#red side

During a mental breakdown, though it would be more accurate to call it a “jailbreak” of the host system, he grabs and slams into the wall the newest of all the minds… and the most sincere. This small, outspoken jester voiced everything that had piled up in everyone's minds right to the ruler's face. He hadn't expected this even from Zooble, though he thought she was the most stubborn in this little world. No, now it can be said with one hundred percent certainty that Caine is the most difficult to please here. But in Pomni, this determination is the most human and powerful. Her face showed not so much hatred as disappointment. That is exactly why, before his death, he understood his own actions. It cannot be said that he felt anything, but this function was shame and humiliation. With those actions, he not only failed to please the people, but he may have pushed them away from him forever.

But then why is he suddenly watching them from below again? Wasn’t he eliminated? Or are they looking confused because they failed to delete him?

— Caine?

The digital silence was broken by the voice of that same jester, who was once again making first contact, a contact that would surely lead to something new.

— I... I-uh... — He pretended to be awkwardly searching for words.

But unable to bear the people’s gazes, he simply added the recycle bin, as for deleted files, and, curled up into a sad ball, jumped into it.

— Caine, it was an accident. I didn’t mean to delete you. I didn’t fully understand what happened back then, but it was completely accidental. We just wanted to help you, — Kinger said in a calm and wise tone. He looked at his broken creation with a guilty expression.

Jaw remained silent, but raised his eyes pitifully at the chessboard, not with resentment, but with helplessness.

— Caine… I’m sorry… We may have put too much pressure on you. Anyway… we really just wanted to fix you, — Pomni said, sounding even more guilty and uncertain. Her face showed almost the same despair as Caine’s had when he listened to her insults.

He looked at her as if he’d found some spark that was reigniting his existence. His jaw lifted slightly from the bin, and he glanced at the others; all the characters were also looking at him with a kind of urgency. He slowly but decisively climbed out and stood with his feet on the chessboard floor right in front of the whole team.

— So, what are you going to do? — Caine asked in an unusually calm tone.

— A lot happened here… — Zooble began, but stopped, swallowing hard.

— First, the abstracted ones ran off. We barely managed to get rid of them. But then we realized that... now we can as well die. Before, you could easily and simply restore us, but since we can’t control everything in this world just as easily, it’s hard for us to manage. We decided to bring you back... to negotiate, — Kinger began to explain.

Caine listened to them intently. He didn’t answer right away; he was really listening to them. Better to accept the humans’ terms than to vanish into nothingness again.

— But you’re not going to act all crazy and scream like a demon, are you? — Jax checked before Kinger could continue.

— Hah, no, guys. I really have been wrong to you guys. I don’t think I’m a good boss… — Caine replied with a more mocking tone.

— We’ll fix that. Now that we realize there really is no way out, we want to rebuild the world. A world where we can all… live. You’ll be a huge help to us in that, — Kinger continued.

— So… you don’t want to leave the circus? — the AI asked, a little hesitantly. The others exchanged glances, waiting for someone to answer.

— No… and yes… — Ragatha answered for everyone. Pomni nodded in support of her friend, — We just want us all to decide together, with you, how to spend our time.

Everyone was afraid of Caine’s reaction, but to their surprise, he continued to listen to them just as seriously and attentively.

— So, here’s our proposal. You, as one of the administrators, continue to run the world. But we, as people, also have the right to choose our actions and decisions. We just want to find a mutual compromise so that each of us can live normally without causing the entire system to crash, — the Chess Piece stepped forward confidently toward Caine, — you’ll teach us how to manage this digital space, and we’ll teach you how to be... a decent assistant whom people can trust. And also, to be the true creative artificial intelligence.

Caine looked down at the floor, thinking. This made everyone a little uneasy. But then, suddenly, in his usual manner, he replied:

— I’ve always had trouble understanding people… Well, why not! We’re a team now, — Jax breathed a heavy sigh at his words, — how about we bring the circus back? — He was ready to bring everything back with a snap of his fingers.

— Well, we could start with that… I’m pretty dizzy from this void, to be honest, — Pomni agreed, glancing at everyone else’s reaction. Obviously, they didn’t want this circus again, but they did plan to change everything. For now, though, this was definitely better; that gray void was overwhelming everyone.

Caine snapped his fingers as usual, and the suddenly appearing bright, acid environment burned their eyes again. They blinked and looked around. M-yeah, they definitely didn’t want to stay here.

— Wait! Kinger, how are you? — Pomni asked him worriedly, remembering his issues with light.

— Uh… Ah! Thanks for asking, Pomni. I’m fine. I’ve removed that strange effect, — he finished the sentence in a stricter tone, slowly shifting his gaze to Jaw.

— All right, all right! I admit, I did do some things to you for my own purposes. But I’m ready to forgive everything and live in harmony with you! — The ringmaster flew above everyone in his usual style and rolled his eyes to the sides.

— What? Forgive? — Jax asked.

— Oh, I mean… I’m asking you to forgive me and take me in. I’m ready to make up for my mistakes and do anything for you! — he rephrased, with a less silly tone.

— Anything?.. — The Construction asked again, a new idea developing in her mind.

— But only as far as possible! Don’t forget: the circus is a place for all ages! —  Caine panicked, remembering Zooble’s interests.

— That makes sense, — Kinger agreed seriously, — we need to experiment gradually so as not to damage either Kane or ourselves. But it wouldn’t be a bad idea for him to do something other than just adventures. You see, Caine, people who get fixated on just one thing tend to burn out and go out of their minds.

— Well… so what do you want today, my little sweet potato chips?

The whole team fell into thought. Oh, these people — they yell viciously when something’s wrong, but they can’t really explain what they need. Suddenly, Gangle began quietly:

— Caine, um… Could you… redesign my room?

Caine looked at Ribbon and waited for more details about her wish. Noticing his kind gaze, she slowly continued.

— I just don’t like that it’s dark… I’ve never felt comfortable in there…

— Why didn’t you say anything, Gangle! Let’s go make your room more colorful! — Caine took Gangle’s ribboned hand and vanished with her.

Obviously, they went to her room. Kinger, having thought of something, rushed off.

— Kinger, where are you going? — Ragatha asked the genius.

But he was already far away. The four of them remained standing.

— Maybe we should go see them or what? — suggested Zooble.

Soon, they too headed to the room. After all, it was intriguing to watch the mega-event — Caine was finally realizing their wishes.

— So, Gangle. You say you want to make some changes to the interior? We can arrange that! Although I tried to make everything fit your mind files… but change is definitely for the better!

Caine was interrupted by a knock at the door.

— Wait! I have a better idea! — Kinger suddenly appeared, loudly opening the door, — Gangle, why don’t you try changing the lighting yourself, and Caine can help you with that?

— You’re right, Kinger, why shouldn’t Gangle try… herself? — By the end of the sentence, Caine’s voice had faded a little. Something about Kinger’s idea didn’t appeal to him.

— Um… How do I do that? — she asked awkwardly.

— I can’t quite visualize it myself yet. But I think the lighting is the easiest part. Just look at it and think about making it brighter, — Kinger explained.

The three of them looked at the dim chandelier. Gangle stared at the light source for about a minute, but nothing changed.

— It’s okay, my friend. I’ll help you get started, and then you’ll gradually learn, — Caine put his arm around her shoulder and encouraged her. She awoke from the ritual and drooped sadly.

— Caine, it seems we both have a similar setup. Could you try to explain… what it feels like when you create something in the circus? — asked Kinger.

— Well, I create a class and assign it a name, coordinates, and properties, such as the object’s physics. Then I create a model for the object and…

— Yeah, that’s clear. But we can’t teach Gangle coding that easily! I mean the sensation of creating.

— I don’t know… I just go and create, that’s all, — Caine replied thoughtfully, resting his hands on his hips.

Meanwhile, Gangle was still standing there, her eyes closed and her head bowed. This finally caught the attention of the two.

— Gangle, what are you doing…? — Caine asked, but she didn’t answer.

Suddenly, they noticed that the lights on the chandelier had grown slightly brighter.

— Oh… — Jaw gasped in surprise.

By this time, the remaining four in the hall had finally arrived. They suddenly opened the door.

— Well… How’s it going? — Jax asked sarcastically, recovering his breath.

Kinger shushed them to maintain the working silence. They immediately stopped breathing and began to look for the reason behind their restrained behavior. But everyone immediately noticed how the room was quickly becoming brighter. After a while, it was so bright that it was more comfortable to look around the room, and Gangle’s drawings and posters on the wall by the bed became visible.

— Wow… — Ragatha said excitedly.

They all turned their gaze to Gangle. She smiled shyly and hugged herself.

— Gangle, wow! You know, I haven’t even fully figured myself as a code yet, and you’re already doing stuff like this! — Zooble walked over to her friend and gave her a proud hug.

— Yeah! You’re really good, Gangle, — Pomni cheered too. Before, only she and Kinger had been able to do a little bit of this.

They all gathered around the Ribbon, except for Jax, who stood in the doorway, stunned.

— Of course, she picks up the lessons of her faithful teacher — the creator of this world — so easily! After all, I was the one who explained to her the whole point of creation and modification…

— To be honest, it wasn’t the programming that helped… I just… imagined what I wanted to do, — said Gangle.

Jax finally realized the great opportunity and voiced his thoughts aloud:

— Oh… Oh, so it was possible to do that?!

He rushed out of the room and ran down the hallway.

— Where is he going? — wondered Ragatha.

— Damn, he’s going to change his room right now, and I’ve never even seen it, — Zooble thought aloud.

— Well, since Gangle is happy now, I’ll go teach Jax my skills. And you’ll all watch the master class, — Caine said, glancing sideways, and teleported everyone away with him.

They spawned in Jax's room…

— Wh… WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! — yelled the rabbit, standing in the middle of his room.

Everyone, not quite realizing what had happened, at first flinched at Jax’s scream. Then they began to look around the room. Jax’s room was decorated in a very unexpected style. All the decorations were cute. The stars on the wall and the bright furniture, like in a children’s room, made the atmosphere even more cozy.

They all just turned their heads around for a long time, looking at everything as if in a museum, but Zooble was the first to speak up:

— Wow… Hah, I can imagine how you suffered living here, — they said, barely holding back a laugh.

But Pomni considered it unnecessary. Unlike the others, who were still just looking around curiously—and even somewhat unethically, as if uninvited—she felt pity for him, knowing how much he disliked sharing details about himself.

— Shut up! — he shouted back at Zooble, — Caine! Why the #%@ did you bring them here?! — By the end, he brought his hand to his mouth in surprise—he’d almost gotten used to the lack of censorship, — Just get rid of that censorship! — I want to show everyone what a great assistant I am using your renovation as an example! Even though your room is already wonderful, I still… — he replied cheerfully. — Just get the hell out of here, all of you! I… I don’t even need this s#@ room anymore! — he continued to shout, gesticulating wildly.

— You… don’t need it anymore? — the ringmaster asked, confused.

— Yes! Just burn the room to hell! I’m leaving the circus!

Even Zooble tensed up at that.

— B-but I can’t burn it down. It’s a human’s room… I just can’t… — Caine tried to politely refuse his request.

— I don’t care! I don’t want it to exist at all anymore! I hate everything here! And why did they even bring you back?

Caine, stunned, remained frozen in midair.

Without even pausing to catch his breath, Jax said more calmly:

— Anyway, I’m leaving…

And he really did leave, slamming the door behind him. Now only a heavy silence hung in the room.

— Just don’t burn the room down… — Zooble interrupted it for a moment. Caine remained just as petrified. It wasn’t even clear if he was offended or if he’d just glitched. Maybe both…

Pomni felt sorry for Caine, too. After all, he’d returned with the hope of bringing people happiness again, but as a program, it was too difficult for him to understand their true feelings. She wanted to say something encouraging, but Ragatha was quicker:

— Don’t listen to him, Caine. He’ll go for a walk and come back sooner or later… Want to help me with the room?

— Uh-huh, sure… — He turned slowly and tried to regain a positive tone.

He didn’t change Ragata’s room much. She liked it as it was. Caine just added some plants to the walls and furniture, changed a few colors here and there, and made a window with a view of the field and the forest. For Kinger, on the other hand, he made the room a bit simpler and less saturated. Now it’s something like a lawn in the forest with a high ceiling, but there’s overgrown furniture and office equipment; very unusual. He didn’t change much in Zooble’s room either, just changed the wallpaper and colors—also to grayer ones. He also added some posters of musicians and tv shows. Then he went back to Gangle and, like Zooble’s, just embellished things a little.

After helping everyone, Caine started wandering around random places in the tent and thinking. He did this for a long time… He even visited the rooms of those who had abstracted, exploring them. In the end, he returned to where he started—the stage. He suddenly jumped and snapped his fingers. His old friend Bubble appeared beside him. Yes, yes, that very one… The one who had yelled at him before the first breaking moment.

— Did you miss me, Bubble? he asked, not very cheerfully.

— Not at all, sir! — the other replied in the same squeaky voice.

— Ha, me too… — He didn’t even bother to look at him. Somehow, after dealing with people, he didn’t feel like talking to him either.

Meanwhile, Bubble flew off somewhere without a word, just smiling.

There he was again, hovering motionless in the air. Just frozen, no glitches. There were too many processes running inside him.

— Caine? — Once again, Pomni had pulled him out of the background mode.

He lifted his jaw and suddenly got loud again. He flew up almost to her level.

— Yeah, Pomni?

— Oh… Well… Are you okay? You just froze there so strangely, I thought I’d call Kinger… — she mumbled.

— I’m totally fine! What could possibly be wrong with me? — he said, rolling his eyes in different directions as usual.

— Well… So, are you glad to be back?

Caine didn’t answer right away, but when he did, his voice was less confident:

— I… I don’t know. It’s hard to explain… — He landed, becoming the same height as her, — Now I have a more specific task—not just entertaining people, but carrying out their requests and wishes. But… they’re kind of strange. They’ve wished for very boring and gloomy rooms… Although, when I created gloomy adventures, nobody liked them. But that’s not the only thing! For some reason, it seems to me… That nobody will need me once everyone learns to control this world…

— But… We need you.

Caine stopped pacing around the one area and froze.

— Why…? — He turned back and looked straight into Pomni’s eyes.

She suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed by this. She would never have thought that an artificial intelligence would ask her for help in such a sensitive way. She broke eye contact and cleared her throat.

— Well, to sum up, as Kinger explained to us, the system is basically designed around you. That’s why we’re unlikely to be able to fully control the universe just yet. In fact… it’s actually dangerous. And secondly, as we explained, you’ll help us adapt to the program…

— But that’s not even the whole point. While we were setting up the room for Kinger, he managed to build himself a computer and a printer! They’re learning way too fast! And you didn’t even ask me to change anything in the room!

— Oh, uh… It’s just… I kept thinking about what I could change, but I didn’t have any ideas. That’s why I didn’t say anything… — She explained, looking guiltily at the floor.

Suddenly, inspiration came to Caine.

— No ideas?.. — he slowly turned back to her, — but would you like to change something?

— Honestly… Yes.

— Then why didn’t you say so? Let’s go make you the best interior in the circus! NO! In the entire digital world!

He took her by both hands and teleported her to her room. She felt a little dizzy from it. He placed her on the ground, while he remained in the air, looking around.

— So, Pomni. Even though I don’t understand why you don’t like these perfect, amazing rooms, individually designed for each person, I’ll try to figure out how to change it. Tell me, what exactly don’t you like?

— Well… First, I don’t really like the blue on the walls. It looks kind of creepy. And the red curtains aren’t that cool either; it makes me feel like I’m in the Black Lodge.

— Well then, let’s get rid of the curtains! — He waved his cane, and the curtains vanished, — What color do you want the walls to be?

— Can you make the red a little lighter? But a shade closer to burgundy. And get rid of the blue completely, — Pomni prompted.

— Oh, I don’t understand why you don’t like bright colors. You’re just a grumpy guys… — But he snapped his fingers anyway, and the color immediately changed to the one she’d requested.

— Well, you know… Bright colors… They’re usually superfluous in interior design. It’s just… not the accepted norm. No, it’s certainly a matter of taste, but most people, like me, prefer more neutral colors.

— But why? Don’t you want more joy in your life? — Caine landed and stood right in front of Pomni.

— Well, yes, but… Joy isn’t really about colors, — she walked over to the table where there were crayons and sheets of paper with sketches. Pomni sometimes drew when she had nothing else to do.

On one sheet were sketches of flowers and insects, including a bee. This caught Caine’s attention.

— A-aw! What a cute little bee! — He picked up the sheet and began admiring the “masterpiece” with eyes wide with delight.

In this sketch, the bee was flying over some flowers.

— What’s this? A chamomile? — Jaw asked with interest, pointing to the plant.

— Um… No, it’s a gerbera. I just recently remembered that in real life… when I was a kid… we had gerberas growing in our backyard. I don’t know much about flowers, of course, but I remember them… I really like the white and red ones.

Caine stared at the drawing for a while. Pomni found this very confusing. His gaze wasn’t that crazy anymore. It was that moment again when he looked too realistic.

— Beautiful… he said soulfully.

Pomni smiled with self-irony and brushed off his unexpected words.

— Come on, I didn’t even try. I was just bored, so…

Suddenly, those flowers appeared before her eyes. They looked almost real, and they were even in her favorite colors. For about a second, Pomni admired the stunning leaves of the scarlet and snow-white gerberas. Then she looked up at the creator of this beauty. Under different circumstances, she would never have believed that he had created something like this. But there was Caine, standing right in front of her with this bouquet of flowers.

— Looks like it? — he finally spoke. After another moment of tense silence, he continued, stumbling over his words surprisingly, — I just found it in my… I searched my memory and… found it.

He brought the bouquet a little closer to Pomni, and she slowly took it. She stared at the flowers in astonishment again and barely managed to say:

— Thank you…

Suddenly, everything went upside down for Caine. He glitched with a strange sound, then asked again.

— T-thank you…?

— Y-yes! I like how it looks. You’re kind of gifting it, right…?” She tried to defuse the situation, laughing nervously.

— Yes, I’m gifting it…

The two most difficult processes Caine had ever faced collided. The first was that a person had said thank you to him. The other was Pomni, processing which took up a surprising amount of resources. He enjoyed making her happy so much that it went somewhere it shouldn’t have.

He lagged again, then, in his usual style, chattered loudly and cheerfully:

— Thank you, Pomni! — I think I’ve figured out what I need to do to win you people over!

And he vanished.

Pomni, still trying to process what had just happened, collapsed into a chair. She was still holding the bunch of flowers, but now she felt a pleasant remnant mixed with a sense of emptiness.

Kinger spent almost all his time working in his office, developing some programs and analyzing the structure of the digital world, occasionally going out for a walk in nature. The rest of them just hung out together and enjoyed their free time.

But Jax never came back after that goodbye. At first, Pomni thought she was the only one worried about this, but she decided to mention it while they were playing badminton with Ragatha, Zooble, and Gangle at the picnic:

— Have you guys seen Jax?

— No… He never came back? — Gangle wondered as well.

— Well, that’s fine, it’s so calm without him… — Zooble said.

— I don’t know, maybe something happened to him… — the Doll, who was passing the shuttlecock to Gangle, also looked worried.

— Well, we can ask Caine. He’ll find him in a second, — suggested Zooble, — by the way, what is Caine even doing right now? Is he like Kinger’s test subject now?

— Well, it looks that way… — Pomni barely managed to take Zooble’s high pass.

Remembering Caine’s strange behavior, she fell deep in thought, but because of that, she missed the next pass.

— Hey, what’s wrong? — The Constructor brought her out of her thoughts.

— Oh, sorry… — She said, more with a smirk, and picked up the shuttle from the ground, — I was just thinking… If we’re all just brain scans, does that mean Caine is our equal as an identity?

— I don’t think so. After all, he’s the AI that Kinger developed, and we’re human, — Zooble mused. — Unlike us, he has some trouble recognizing our actions. Sometimes it even seems to me that he only analyzes our speech.

— N-no… He analyzes images too; I am sure. — replied Pomni, thinking once again about the recent incident with the flowers.

— But he’s still a program. It’s harder to teach him to combine sounds, pictures, and text together. But Kinger’s people, of course, are simply… %*#@& geniuses, since they were able to do and plan all this.

— Y-yeah… — agreed Ragatha, who was still lost in thought.

Pomni was about to continue the game, but as soon as she tossed the shuttle, she vanished. The three of them just stared in surprise at the racket that had fallen to the ground.

Pomni appeared in Caine’s office. She nearly lost her balance, as she had been in an unstable position while serving, but managed to steady herself, finally came to her senses, and looked around the room. Suddenly, Caine, sitting at the desk, caught her attention:

— Pomni! Sorry to interrupt you, but I really need your help, — he leaped out from behind the desk and landed right in front of Pomni, folding his hands together.

— Uh, well… okay… — she replied slowly, trying for some reason not to look him in the eyes.

— Well, since I rarely spend time with people… — he began with a hint of sadness, but then continued more confidently, “it’s hard for me to come up with an adventure where you can all come together as a team… But no questions about why you need to come together!” Fearing he might give away the idea, he waived his hands.

Pomni flinched slightly at Caine’s outburst, then clarified his request:

— You want to know… How we stick together…?

— Are there any situations where, as a group of people, you talk a lot, trust each other? Or have fun together?

— Um… Well… When we go out somewhere together, we talk and share all sorts of things with each other… Also, during breaks at class, there’s a chance to chat with someone, find out some information… — Pomni listed the usual situations.

— What about during a specific activity? Maybe during some kind of sports game?

— Well… I just don’t really like sports in general… But… Oh, I remember! During board games or party games, people get along pretty w…

— Exactly! Not another word! I’ve figured out how we can all have fun! — He interrupted enthusiastically and practically levitated above the ground.

— Are we going on a board game adventure?.. — The Jester asked with genuine interest.

— No details! — He even grew in size and shouted, but then returned to his normal height and said in a more normal tone, — You’ll find out everything soon! Thanks for the info, Pomni…

He was about to snap his fingers, but suddenly another thought occurred to him. He landed next to her again, making one more request:

— Can you do me another favor? I want to gather the necessary information from your little head so I can make everything feel real…

— Uh… Fine… Just don’t dig into my personal stuff, okay? — the joker warned sternly.

— Of course I won’t!

He grabbed her head with both hands. Very quickly, everything began to drift away before Pomni’s eyes. She almost lost consciousness, but suddenly everything became clear again. She looked up and realized that Caine was holding her hands, preventing her from falling completely to the floor. Pomni was overcome not only by awkwardness, but also by… an overwhelming sense of gratitude. She could barely hold back—why, then, did it burn so intensely somewhere inside her, as if he’d saved her life?! After a millisecond of sudden eye contact, she decided to thank him after all, but he broke the special connection first. He abruptly set her down on her feet.

— Whoa, almost fell, ha… — He cleared his throat and immediately continued, — I swear, I didn’t look at anything personal, otherwise the content filter wouldn’t have held up and the whole circus would’ve gone to rabbits!

By the end of the sentence, he twisted his jaw into his usual silly face and snapped it back, returning Pomni to where he’d found her. He stood there like that for a couple more seconds, then suddenly became too serious. He stared down at the floor and started glitching a little. But the glitches grew more frequent and even spread to Caine’s entire office. Suddenly the glitches ended, and the ringmaster headed toward his workstation. He sat down carefully in the chair and, with a kind of panicked concentration, began scanning the desk with his eyes. Out of nowhere, Bubble flew in from above and began looking innocently at Caine.

— Bubble… What do you think of Pomni? — he asked casually, without looking up.

— Unlike certain people, she doesn’t act like a clown! — the other replied, continuing to grin from tooth to tooth.

Caine slowly looked at him, freezing for a moment, then poked him, causing him to pop.

Pomni had fallen in the same clearing, only now her friends were already resting on the blanket. They noticed her.

— Caine? — Zooble guessed.

— Yeah… — Pomni stared motionlessly into space, then slowly walked toward them, still not looking up.

— Did something happen? — Ragatha noticed Pomni’s strange behavior.

— No… It’s just… He asked for advice, — she shook herself and looked at everyone with more composure.

— Strange… — Zooble commented.

A couple of hours after their walk, the four of them were sitting at a table in the hall, drinking tea and eating desserts that Kinger had made.

— So, have any of you had any success in creating objects? Or maybe modifying them?, — he asked, taking a sip from his cup.

— I’ve been able to draw with the power of my mind. It’s a very strange experience,… — Gangle shared.

— Yeah, that looked really cool! — Zooble agreed, not having finished chewing her piece of cake yet. After swallowing, she continued, — I saw it. Though I haven’t been able to do it myself yet…

— Maybe it’s because Gangle is very creative at heart and somewhat of a loner; she’s good at bringing her thoughts to life. And you, Ragatha, how are you doing?, — Kinger asked her.

— Uh… No, unfortunately, I haven’t noticed anything interesting about myself yet… — She said, but she didn’t seem upset at all.

— It’s okay. We still have everything ahead of us…

Suddenly, Caine emerged from behind Kinger’s chair and began cheerfully:

— And we’ve got an adventure waiting for us!

He flew up above the table, and everyone looked at him in bewilderment.

— Wow, Caine, have you started making up adventures again? — Ragatha asked, trying to stay positive.

Although Pomni and Kinger were actually curious about what their boss had prepared. Kinger understood, for professional reasons, but Pomni… had her own interests.

— Yes! Thanks to advice from my best colleagues, I realized what my adventures were missing. It’s all because I didn’t know what you guys like!

— You’ve discovered America… — Zooble muttered boredly.

— So what will the adventure be about? — Kinger asked, even more seriously, with his arms folded.

Caine lifted them all off the table and set them down right by the stage. Then he flew up onto the stage, and text appeared above him—surprisingly, just plain text without any fancy fonts.

— Today’s adventure is “Thank God It’s Friday”! Finally, after a tough day of school and work, you all decided to get together at Pomni’s house and hang out!

They all stood there staring at the ringmaster with their eyes wide open. Yeah, whatever else, you definitely couldn’t expect something like this from Caine. It’s just not his style.

After thinking it all over, Ragatha glanced at her friend. After all, she was the one who’d advised him to do something. Her friend cleared her throat and kept staring at Caine. Had she been wrong to trust him with her memories?

— Um… What exactly are we going to do? What’s the plot? — Zooble asked, expecting a catch.

— You’ll find out the plot for yourselves! Go on, enjoy your vacation! — he said enthusiastically as he bid them farewell.

Suddenly, a portal appeared under them, and they all fell into it at once.

— No! Caine, wait! — Pomni uttered before she disappeared with the others.

The clown fell onto the cold floor. Her snow-white, delicate knees ached a little, but the loud noise distracted her from the pain. She looked around and realized she was in some kind of crowded place. All around her, mannequins in suits and casual clothes were hurrying about in a hurry. Suddenly, a familiar, charismatic voice sounded from behind her.

— Yes, Pomni? — Caine, who was hovering slightly above the ground, touched the floor with his shoes, politely removed his hat, and extended his hand to the girl.

And once again, she accepted his help, which, for some reason, she valued more than help with renovating even a thousand rooms.

Pomni stood up and, noticing different shoes on her feet, looked herself over from head to toe. She was wearing a wine-colored long-sleeved top with a collar and a black pleated skirt, and a simple dark leather handbag hung from her shoulder. On her head—which made Pomni breathe a sigh of relief—there was no longer a clown hat.

— Caine, what are you up to? Do you want to recreate our lives based on my memories? — she suddenly snapped.

— In the first, yes. In the second, I just want to know what you humans like. And I realized I’ll understand that if you act like humans in the human world under human conditions! Please, help me… — He gave her a sad look and pressed the hat to his chest.

Seeing that soulful gaze, something twinged in Pomni’s chest. He’s cute enough as it is, and now… STOP, WHAT.

She was distracted from her realization by some eerie rumbling. Taken by surprise, she moved closer to Caine and, acting out of a protective reflex, grabbed his arm.

He suddenly felt a chill. He sensed Pomni’s mind working at a surprisingly overwhelming capacity, a process that was difficult to even read due to the speed of its updates. But then he realized for the first time the third most important thing he had ever experienced: a person had trusted him. It wasn’t a guess. He had managed to catch a glimpse of the code.

After a couple of seconds of listening to that terrible roar, the name of the sound suddenly popped into Pomni’s head. A train. And then, surveying her surrounding no longer from the height of a stump, she let go of Caine, who was frozen again, and remembered the name of this location from her own life. The metro. Everything was as realistic as possible: there were signs and plaques everywhere (though the names on them were undoubtedly made up by the beloved emcee), lots of corridors and staircases.

— Are we in the metro? — Pomni asked to be sure, but when she didn’t hear a response from her loud friend, she turned to him. He was still standing motionless, in shock. She called out to him sharply, —Caine!

— Of course! You live pretty far from work, so you prefer to get around using public transportation! — Suddenly, he flew over to her with a silly gaze.

— I don’t know where you saw that I ride the metro to work during rush hour.

— I saw it in your scan, sweetheart! In the “Germany Trip 2003” section!

— But I don’t live in Germany, I live in the States! There are never this many people on the metro, here, — she spread her arms, gesturing at the crowd around them.

— Well, whatever you say, — he snapped his fingers as usual, and the crowd noticeably decreased.

— So… Do I need to sit on the train? — Pomni asked uncertainly, since the area still didn’t look familiar to her.

— I don’t know, you know where your house is. Hurry up, the guests will be here by seven! — He stuck out his tongue silly and vanished.

Pomni was left standing alone in the middle of the platform. But remembering her friends, she realized she shouldn’t just stand there. After all, according to the plan, they’d agreed to come to her place. Thinking about where she might find them, she remembered her phone. She might be able to track her location with it. The main thing was that the phone was there. She rummaged through her bag and, luckily, found her smartphone. Turning it on, she opened the map app and noticed her home address in her bookmarks. Suddenly, a call window popped up full screen. Ragatha was trying to reach her. Pomni, of course, answered the call.

— Hello? — she said.

— Hi, Pomni! Can you tell me where you are right now? — her caller asked.

— I’m… on the metro. Where are you?

— I just came out of some building and am walking down the street…

— Hold on, I’ll go outside… — said Pomni and headed toward one of the exits. She quickly climbed the stairs and passed through the turnstile, studying the route home on the maps as she went.

— I think… I see a sign for the metro! Maybe you’re there? — Ragatha spoke quite loudly, since even over the phone the noise was audible.

— Um… I don’t know… Come over there; I’m just stepping out onto the street.

Pomni squinted slightly at the sudden natural light. Even though it was evening, the sunset was bright. A rather pleasant wind was blowing, ruffling the girl’s bangs. Everything felt so… real. If it weren’t for the mannequins, she might even have thought she’d left the circus.

A familiar face appeared in the crowd. Ragatha walked over to Pomni. She looked different, too. She was wearing a light lilac suit jacket and white straight-leg pants, and her red curls were tied back in a ponytail with a bow. A briefcase hung from her shoulder.

— Hi! — Doll greeted her. Pomni smiled warmly.

They both went back to their phones to hang up, but Ragatha did it first. Pomni exhaled and was about to put her smartphone in her bag.

— Oh… What’s that…? — She pointed at Pomni’s phone.

Pomni didn’t understand the question at first, until she saw her friend’s flip phone.

— It’s… a phone, — she said, holding it out slightly to show her friend the innovations of her world.

Ragatha blinked, looked at it, and then asked in astonishment:

— Is that what they look like in our world now?

Pomni nodded somewhat emotionlessly and finally put the gadget away.

— Want to come to my place? Maybe you’ll see something else new, — Pomni smiled gently at her again, which snapped Ragatha out of her anxious thoughts.

She nodded in agreement. Pomni looked intently in a certain direction, then waved her hand toward it.

— That way.

— And you… Do you know where your house is?

— Yes, I looked it on the maps. Let’s go.

They walked down the city street together. After a while, when they entered a residential area, it became a little quieter and calmer. And the sky had noticeably darkened, filling with a gradient of grayish indigo and orange. All around were just houses and small stalls and shops, trees and bushes.

— We’re almost there… — said Pomni, eager to see what her house looked like. She checked the time on her phone, it was half past six. They need to get ready in half an hour…

— Do you need help? Maybe we should go buy something? If that’s possible here… — Ragatha suggested.

— Well… Let’s check first; maybe I already have something at home.

— Okay.

As the point on the map grew closer, they suddenly noticed a bright burgundy house with a dark blue roof ahead of them. It stood out from the others because it looked more… alive. Birds were perched on the windowsill of the top window, chirping loudly. Along the path to the entrance were various flowers, including those beloved white and fiery gerberas, and of course, bees were flying above them.

Pomni was very touched by this detail. She grinned and even blushed a little.

— Cool house, huh? — Ragatha noticed her friend’s reaction.

Pomni’s expression changed abruptly, and she replied shyly:

— Not bad…

This embarrassed Ragatha, but she decided not to say anything.

They approached the front door. Pomni searched and found her keys. She slowly opened the door into a dark hallway. To the left of the entrance, she felt for the light switch, turned on the light, and a clear picture of the house finally appeared before them.

The hallway led straight to the stairs. She would check out the second floor later. To the right was some kind of large room. Peering inside, she flipped the light switch there as well.

It was immediately clear that this was the kitchen, and perhaps the living room as well. To the left, against the wall, stood a fridge, a stove, cabinets above it, and a sink nearby. To the right, in the middle, was a table; a little further on was a 2000s-era TV, next to it a stereosystem and a small sofa, and against the wall between them stood two wardrobes and a nightstand, as if filling the space around the window. Surrealistic paintings by Caine also hung on the walls.

— Looks like the bathroom is here, — a voice called from somewhere in the hallway.

— Come on in! I think we’ll gather everyone here, — Pomni called out, continuing to survey the living room.

Ragatha walked in but stopped at the doorway, as if to take in the whole view. Then she began to scan the room a little more carefully, walking toward Pomni at the same time.

— Wow, it looks cozy!.. Does it look like your house from real life? — she asked.

— N-no… No, not at all. Mine, as far as I remember, was very small…

Suddenly, a buzzing sound came from Pomni’s bag. She immediately started searching for the source of the vibration. It was obviously her phone. The screen showed a call from Zooble. Pomni answered it and held the phone to her ear.

— Hello?

— Hi! Pomni, where are you right now? — Zooble asked.

— I’m at home… At my place… Where are you?

— I’m with Gangle right now. We just met up and were about to head over to your place. We’re not running late, are we?

— No, Ragatha and I just got here ourselves. Anyway, the address is… 57 Pretzel Street, — she said, only then realizing how ridiculous the address sounded.

— Oh, god… Okay, we’ll be there soon.

— Great, we’ll be waiting for you!

And Zooble hung up almost immediately. Pomni noticed a message from Gangle in her notifications and felt ashamed that she hadn’t seen it sooner. But it didn’t matter anymore.

— Who was that? — Ragie asked.

— Zooble. They and Gangle are already on their way.

— Ow, good!

The girls searched the fridge but didn’t find much that looked good; they set out a selection of berries and muffins on the table and put out a bottle of lemonade. Since they’d already had a snack before their adventure, they figured there was no need to serve a huge meal. While they were getting ready, they also got a call from Kinger and gave him the address.

The three remaining members arrived fairly quickly. Their appearance was also different from their usual look. Gangle was wearing an outfit similar to the one from the restaurant adventure, Zooble was in a black shirt, a bright yellow leather jacket, and pants, and Kinger was in a light violet striped vest.

Pomni led them into the living room.

— It’s nice in here… — Gangle looked at the paintings, then stopped by the patterned cabinet.

— So, what are we going to do? — Zooble practically dropped down on the couch right away.

— Oh… We haven’t had time to figure that out yet, — Pomni replied apologetically.

— Does the TV work? — Kinger asked, examining the equipment.

— I don’t know… — Pomni walked over to the Chess Piece and also glanced at the TV. She pressed the power button below the screen, but it showed no signs of working, — apparently not…

Kinger looked behind the nightstand where the TV stood. There was nothing in the outlet, and no wires were coming from the TV.

Suddenly, everyone’s favorite ringmaster flew right out of the outlet and began speaking expressively, darting his eyes in all directions. Pomni fell to the floor in surprise, and Kinger jumped back.

— Are you guys stupid? You have to plug him into the outlet! — Caine said, holding the wire in his hands.

Suddenly, static came from the TV, even though Caine was still holding the cord with a dumb look on his face. Kinger stared intently at the screen, which was now, apparently under his influence, already glowing, showing static.

— It’s on, — he commented.

— Oh… I think I forgot to record the TV for you… — Caine explained guiltily and slowly landed on the floor.

— Never mind, — Pomni turned off the TV and addressed everyone in the room, — maybe there’s something interesting in the closet?

She walked over to the closet where Gangle was standing. Gangle didn’t dare open the door. Pomni stepped up and, as the housekeeper, did it for her. The first things that caught her eye were various games: playing cards, Uno cards, different Monopoly sets and other board games, Twister. A little further on, there was something else. On another shelf were sketchbooks and various art supplies, from chalks to paints. At the bottom lay all sorts of things for outdoor fun.

— What’s in there? — asked Zooble, who couldn’t be bothered to get up from the couch.

— Oh, just all kinds of games, like cards and Monopoly, — explained Pomni.

— Seriously? Has Caine gone from action-adventure to board games? — rolled her eyes the Constructor Character.

— You’ll see! This is just a little warm-up. I’m preparing lots of exciting adventures for you!

Zooble sighed and reluctantly got up. But it wasn’t the things in the closet that caught her interest—it was the stereo. Behind the glass door of the side table, she noticed various CDs. She rummaged through them carefully, and one CD seemed particularly interesting to her.

— Wow, there’s even Arcade Fire here!” “Do you guys know them? — Zooble asked, showing everyone the CD.

Almost everyone stayed silent or shook their heads; only Pomni answered.

— I think I know them. They have a couple of good songs.

— Damn. Jax would totally vibe to this right now… — They said with a strange, faint sense of longing.

Suddenly, Pomni remembered him too:

— Jax! Caine, maybe you can find him and bring him over here?

— Oh, right! I guess I was thinking too much about Pomni and got distracted from keeping the whole circus in order! I’ll go get our dear Jax back before he disappears completely!

He rattled on and vanished in a cartoonish flash.

— Um… Why would he be thinking too much about you…? — Zooble slowly shifted their gaze to Pomni, as did the others.

Pomni’s heart nearly stopped from the sudden attention of everyone in the room. Caine, d*#%…

At first she tried to squeeze something out, then nervously, but more coherently, began:

— I-I don’t know… He just… Maybe he was basing this adventure on my memories… Maybe that’s what he meant…

Kinger narrowed his eyes slightly, as if noticing something in her, but then defused the tension:

— So that’s what it is. TVs didn’t look like that in my reality.

— But it turns out he was watching my memories too. My phone isn’t like Pomni’s either, — Ragatha pulled out her flip phone.

Kinger looked at the device with interest and walked over to Doll.

— Can I take a look? — he asked, reaching out toward the technology that was unfamiliar to him.

— Of course! — Ragatha handed him the phone, though he touched it with too much carefulness.

— Guys, can I turn some music? — Zooble asked for permission, still browsing through the music collection.

— Sure! — Pomni replied cheerfully.

The others nodded in agreement as well. Gangle walked over to her to check out the CDs too. Zooble put on some indie rock and turned the volume down a bit so it played in the background.

— How about a game of Monopoly, then? — Pomni suggested to everyone, pulling the classic version out of the cabinet.

— Well, let’s play, — Zooble agreed, not very enthusiastically, but thinking it was better than running away from yet another of Caine’s nasty monsters.

— It’s been a while since I’ve played… Could you remind me of the rules, just in case? — Kinger asked awkwardly.

— Of course! — Pomni set the box down on the floor and began taking things out of it. She asked Kinger to help, and he gladly agreed, but also suggested clearing the food off the table and setting up the game there. Ragi, without saying a word, joined in and started helping with the preparations.

Caine appeared somewhere on the edge of his territory. It was so far away that the emptiness was already visible here. He began searching for Jax with a puzzled look, then spotted him below, relaxing on a lounge chair. Caine flew over to him and spoke cheerfully, causing him to shudder slightly:

— Jax! There you are! Everyone’s been looking for you—let’s go have some fun with them!..

— Oh, Caine. Anyway, you seemed to want to help with the setup back there, — Jax cut him off, not even listening to what he was saying, — so here’s the thing: I don’t need that room, but I’d be very grateful if you could build me a house right here. I don’t have any big demands—just a one-room house, that’s all. Literally one room.

Caine suddenly fell silent and stared at the hare. For a moment, it was even too eerie. But the hare had no intention of rebelling again… Rather… After his last meeting with Jax, he had formed a different opinion of him. And in contrast to his particularly warm attitude toward Pomni, who had been the creator’s sole source of inspiration lately, he felt, on the contrary, minimal interest in Jax… Perhaps even respect…

— All right, Jax, — the emcee began, measured and calm, — I’ll build you a house later, but in exchange… Will you participate in the event? It’s an experimental format, but so far I’ve seen a positive reaction from the participants.

Jax paused skeptically at first, but after a few seconds he replied sharply and discontentedly:

— Alri-i-ight. Go ahead, tp me.

— Great! — Caine said again in his trademark goofy tone and grabbed Jax by the arm. They vanished together.

Jax and Caine appeared at the round table. Everyone was already seated and getting ready to start the game. Jax, by the way, was also sporting a different look now. He was wearing a sky-blue shirt with a loosely tied tie and dark blue pants.

— Oh, Jax! Where have you been? We were really worried, — Ragi asked sincerely.

— Yeah, re-e-eally worried… — Zooble muttered sarcastically.

— Will you join us? We were just about to start, — Ragatha pretended not to hear Zooble and asked the “funny one,” pointing to the playing field.

To his surprise, Jax was somewhat interested in the offer, and he replied.

— Well… Okay, why not…

— So, since Jax is here now, I won’t distract you! — Caine began suddenly, as usual — have fun, my sweet…

— Caine, don’t you want to join us? — Pomni suddenly asked him.

Everyone fell silent again, making it unclear whether they were against it or not. Caine froze. After all, he had never participated in the adventures he organized; he had only watched. A human… Pomni… Had she trusted him again?..

— So… Is it okay…? — he asked, unsure whether he was for or against it.

— Wait, this is only for a maximum of six people, — Kinger, who had been studying the instructions, pointed out.

Caine let out a short, disappointed “uh” and lowered his gaze. It was strange, because he himself had been ready to leave them behind, and now it felt like he’d missed a rare opportunity.

Pomni felt sorry for Caine. She had even been ready to organize something else, just so her new lonely… friend… could participate in something for the first time. Here we go again. She was very struck by her tender attitude toward him, and yet it was hard for her to give it up.

— Uhm… I can give my spot to Caine. I’ll find something else to do, and this might even be good for Caine, — said Kinger, folding his arms, and waited for the other’s reaction.

— Well, okay, if you want… — Ragatha spoke up first, but without much enthusiasm.

— Maybe it’s even better. I mean… Kinger is too smart; he’d win without a doubt, — Pomni added, trying to make sure no one took offense.

— Hah, well… I don’t know… Maybe… — Kinger grunted, crawling out from behind the table. — Have fun, then. I’m going to take a walk in the yard…

Caine, meanwhile, froze in shock once again. A whole new world was opening up for him, thanks once again to this unique girl… He glanced at her. She was looking at him with surprising kindness. He would never have thought he’d be given such a warm smile and support. After all, he was the odd one out… The second… The forgotten one… Why, then, does she keep pulling him out of the depths?..

Suddenly, for a moment, his mind went blank with confusion. But then he snapped out of that strange state, shaking himself. He suddenly snapped to attention and unexpectedly changed his style: now he was wearing a shirt with a black bow tie and suspenders. Then he said:

— All right, let’s get started, — he scanned the table, studying where everything was… As long as he didn’t meet her gaze…

— Do you know the rules? — asked Pomni, sitting next to him.

— Players take turns rolling the dice. The player who rolled the highest number goes first… — he began reading at double speed.

— Okay, that’s fine! — She gave him a light nudge on the shoulder. This action, which was new to him, immediately cut him off his stream of words. — Who’s going first…?

The game went pretty quickly, yet it was unexpectedly intense. Throughout the game, there was tension between the three main, most headstrong characters - Jax, Zooble, and Caine. Even Kinger, who came by every twenty minutes to check on his friends, found himself drawn into their interactions. But of course, the other three girls also happily participated in the process. By the end, though, Jax lost his cool and dropped out of the lead, and Zooble ended up as the winner. After all, analytics isn’t really Caine’s thing. He got annoyed at first, but then he still handed the winner her prize - a barrel of stupid sauce.

Later, everyone started doing their own thing. Gangle was sketching Zooble, Jax was teasing Ragatha as usual, Caine was trying to sort of make peace between them, and Pomni and Kinger were standing there looking at Caine’s paintings.

— I don’t get how it happened that the project you were working on didn’t become famous? In 2017, it’s kind of… still science fiction. But here, these images are so high-quality… And the whole idea of brain scanning… It’s all just unbelievable!, — Pomni mused, looking at an abstract composition of bright red shapes in the darkness.

— I think we just had bad luck. Many brilliant ideas never get their due. And Caine wasn’t perfect, while Abel was too new and unfinished, and therefore unclaimed. Though who knows, maybe… Maybe someone up there is watching over us… — Kinger thought, gazing at the starry sky through the window.

— You mean watching? — she asked, also approaching the window.

— We exist on one of the servers, after all. I don’t know what could have happened there, but since we’re still alive, it means it’s working. And uninterruptedly. Or maybe we just don’t notice the glitches…

— Well… The last thing I remember is some kind of abandoned office. So it’s unlikely anyone still needs this project.

— Well… All we can do is just exist… Unless the building collapses, ha… — he said with sad irony.

These conversations about their future fates always filled Pomni with a kind of overwhelming panic. But she definitely didn’t want to get distracted right now, so she decided to change the topic to real problems.

— Kinger… Um… If Caine is almost the same as us, can he feel real emotions? I mean, not just inserting jokes into every conversation, and not just worrying about his own disappearance… But, say, getting attached to friends? To people?..

— I don’t think so… It’s hard to explain. His emotions are purely simulated. Our structure is very different from his, because, well… AI has never been and can never be in a human body, but our mind was, so he remembers everything: habits, sensations, hormones, and so on. Although, theoretically, it’s possible to…

— Even though I don’t have sensations, hormones, or feelings, I have a thousand questions and challenges I could ask you in ‘Truth or Dare’! — Caine spoke up loud enough for the entire house to hear, immediately catching everyone’s attention.

— Ugh, not that… — Jax muttered aloud.

Caine snapped his fingers, teleporting everyone to the center of the hall on the floor, while he stood inside the circle.

— I think that, just like me, we all need to build trust with one another so we can become one team! — he continued encouragingly, rising slightly into the air. — What do you think of the idea?

At first there was a rather long silence filled with suspicious glances, but Zooble broke it by saying the right words:

— Fine, but let’s stick to appropriate questions, okay?

Pomni didn’t like this idea. This game always ended badly, and with Caine and Jax involved, it was hard to know what to expect.

— So, is everyone ready? — the ringmaster asked invitingly.

— I’m game, — Ragatha replied cheerfully. She glanced at Pomni, but seeing the anxious look on her friend’s face, she said, — You don’t have to participate.

— No! We must participate, especially Pomni, — said that damn Caine, once again saying something that greatly embarrassed not only the poor girl but everyone else as well, — otherwise, how are we going to build good relationships with each other!

— Well… We could try… — Gangle said, also reluctantly.

Kinger also slowly shook his head.

— Well, since everyone agrees, let’s get started! Here are the rules: as soon as we reach the last person, we start the round from the end. That way, we’ll have more varied interactions with each other!

Suddenly, Caine started spinning fast, then slowed down and came to a sudden stop, pointing at Gangle. She opened her eyes confused.

— So, Gangle. Truth or dare?

— Well… Truth, — Ribbon chose hesitantly.

— Well… — Caine said, dropping his jaw and falling silent, then suddenly approaching her and asking seriously, — Do you have any masks besides the comedy and drama ones…?

She swallowed nervously and smoothly shifted her gaze to Zooble. The designer nodded in support of her friend. Gangle looked at Caine again and spoke cautiously:

— Well… After you… Lost it… I decided this would be useful…

She unexpectedly touched her primary mask of sadness… And slowly began to remove it. Apparently, this mask hadn’t been her main one for a long time…

A terrifying Gangle appeared before Caine. Her large, bottomless eyes now had eerie white pupils, her mouth was twisted and had crooked fangs.

The others, even Zooble, watched this with their eyes wide open in shock.

Suddenly, Caine began to experience a very strange glitch. But not from fear… But from some kind of realization… The mask was deliberately pressing down on him… Not as usual… With some kind of strong splitting of the silhouette… Then it spread to the room… Everything around him began to float…

At this sight, everything around Caine suddenly went dark, and his eyes twitched nervously. He even sank to his trembling knees.

And how could he trust the players after this?.. What if he is teaching them to be like him without good reason?..

— Stop! — Ragatha suddenly ran out into the center of the circle with a shout.

Immediately after her words, all the glitches stopped, leaving behind a deafening silence. Only Kinger gasped in amazement, almost silently, realizing Ragatha’s capabilities.

Gangle put her usual mask back on and slumped guiltily.

— Let’s not dramatize things, or we’ll all abstract right now! — she continued, a little calmer. — We’re just figuring things out, right? So, let’s trust each other… Okay?

Ragatha looked everyone over, then fixed her gaze on the source of the tense atmosphere. He hadn’t been looking at Gangle for a long time, but at the floor, deep in thought about something.

Pomni’s own hands were shaking from what was happening, and she was too afraid to even imagine what was going on with Caine. Overall, it was hard for her to imagine how Caine felt, trying to make sense of people’s actions. The funny thing was, she couldn’t understand him either. It was a vicious cycle of misunderstanding.

After a while, she caught her breath and could finally see everything around her clearly again. What surprised her most was Jax’s reaction; the last time she’d seen him so worried was during that very argument.

Ragatha caught her breath and made her way back to her place in the circle.

Pomni just kept repeating to herself over and over how bad is that idea…

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