#sam anthos

"A cacophony of cruelty buffeted their bars, wave after relentless wave of human noise. 'Let us see their life-force!' the mob demanded. 'Let us hear the music of their unhuman agony!'

Gradually, the whip was cast aside for the candescent glow of the branding iron. Compared to the silent desolation of the Abyss, this was a brand of torment they could scarcely comprehend. And yet, for the price of their skin, they were fed. Three times a day, the gnawing void in their bellies was pacified.

Time flowed on, and the novelty of spilling monster blood began to rot. The circus tents grew hollow as the spectacle of pain turned stale. Those drifting through the stalls now spoke with the jaded tongues of those who had seen too much and felt too little."

"To draw the blood yourself—is that not the ultimate ecstasy? A voyeur’s interest is a fleeting thing, and every stage-play eventually loses its sting."

A sinister spark flickered in Eladio’s gaze. Slowly, methodically, he starved his prisoners, allowing the primordial hunger to gnaw at their vitals until only one meal remained. New broadsides appeared in the streets, their headers bleeding in vivid scarlet:

"BEYOND THE VEIL: TAME THE ABYSS WITH YOUR OWN STRENGTH!"

What followed was a descent into a depravity that eclipsed the Abyss itself. The theater became a slaughterhouse of the soul. The mob cheered as chosen commoners ascended the stage to exert their dominance over the 'monsters.' That heady, lethal draught of power—the feeling of being a god among the broken—became a drug they could no longer refuse.

"Then, a whisper rose from the depths of their suffering:

'What if we were made of the same flesh as them?

Could we eat our fill, without limit, without end?

Would we walk free from the shadow of cruelty, beyond the reach of the whip?

Would no one ever again press the molten heart of a branding iron into our bodies?'"

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Pierrot: Jester advised that if you just hide well, the prey will come running to you. *hide*

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THE FREAK CIRCUS AU – FICTION LORE

Who are you?

The green eyes slowly narrowed. They had been observing this being for days. Learning his language because they had no language of their own.

I am Eladio. I have come to make a proposal. You are tormented by eternal hunger, aren't you?

The flames fell silent, listening to him.

I have a simple deal: you work for me. In return, I will provide you with food. Three times a day, every day. You will no longer need to worry about satisfying your hunger.

The monsters fell silent, considering the offer. In this Abyss of Despair, everything that ever existed around them had been devoured. Because they were hungry. They were left with only an endless void. How much longer would eternal hunger consume them? They weren't sure. Every branch, every blade of grass had become their ravenous meal.

This offer will provide temporary relief. They considered it.

That's excellent.

The pair of blue eyes hovered in mid-air in response.

Fan fiction: @samanthosnovelist

Game author: Nekoboydreams

"But Pierrot—the moniker he would one day assume—began to learn. He learned that agony could be contained, absorbed into a frame massive enough to swallow it whole. He discovered that each wound, in its healing, birthed a skin more calloused, more unyielding. And so, he began to swell, his physical form expanding in grotesque proportions.

"Beneath Eladio’s hands, a circus took form—a sprawling empire of the strange, where a mountain of canvas peaked toward the heavens, sheltering the stage at its core like a dark secret."

"As the show opened its maw to a tide of restless voyeurs, the usual grotesque displays had lost their thrill. But Eladio vowed a revelation—something so profound and unsettling that it would resonate through the spectator's very marrow, a shock to be felt in every single pore of their being."

1/ "The one with the emerald eyes—a flickering radiance akin to marsh-fires, the very light that once lured the lost deeper into the Abyss—chose a different path. While the others hardened, it began to weave itself into the world of men, mastering their tongue with a chilling, early grace."

2/. "A new lesson took root in his mind: the power of allure. It was not a charm of form or tongue, but a sorcery of the eyes. He kept his gaze unblinking in the gloom, a rhythmic pulsing that defied the frantic beat of terror. It was a beckoning light, steady and strange, drawing the witness into a trance they could not name."

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1/ «Aquel de ojos color esmeralda —un resplandor titilante similar al de los incendios de los pantanos, la misma luz que antaño atraía a los perdidos a las profundidades del Abismo— eligió un camino distinto. Mientras los demás se endurecían, él comenzó a integrarse en el mundo de los hombres, dominando su lengua con una gracia escalofriante y precoz».

He told them it was "home," a place where they would no longer be hungry.