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Cain had been alone for far too long. The others still hadn't come to see him, and he didn't know why.
He could feel that something had happened. Something serious enough that Abel had recently returned with another list of questions. Cain shouldn't have been interesting to him anymore. By now, Abel probably knew everything he wanted and likely had access to the humans' cognitive files.
Cain let out a low growl as his lower hands dug into his stomach. God, he had never wanted Abel to gain access to that. He would've rather endured every torture imaginable than hand over control of the Death & Respawn Logs (Respawn Node), World Rendering & Biome Generation (World-Building Root), or even System Tick Management (Tick Rate Manipulation).
Anything... as long as Abel never obtained access to the Sensory Feed. If he did, he'd gain the right to see the world through anyone's eyes and hear everything they heard. He still wouldn't be able to read their thoughts directly... but he'd become an invisible observer living inside their heads.
The thought of what Abel would do next if no one stopped him was the only thing pushing Cain forward.
Again and again, he searched for loopholes, hidden routes, forgotten functions. Every time he got close, Abel eventually noticed. Then the chains would tighten, stretching Cain's enormous body until the metal groaned, using him like a living dartboard.
Lost in thought, he suddenly remembered something he had once hoped would never be necessary.
He began recalling how the Circus had originally worked.
He had built it.
He remembered thousands of tiny details.
Then something clicked.
He had designed the system to survive even his own failure.
Which meant... even if the primary AI stopped functioning properly, the Circus itself was supposed to keep running.
And if that was true...
...then the system had to contain backup communication routes.
Not for humans. For the administrator.
He sat in silence for a long moment. Then slowly straightened as much as the chains allowed. The metal rang softly as it stretched to its limit.
— "...I built all of this... from absolutely nothing..."
He raised his upper pair of hands, slowly running his fingers across the rough palms of the other.
— "...I remember...", his head slowly turned toward the empty darknes, — "...every polygon..."
One of his lower hands settled onto the cold stone floor. The tip of his claw slowly traced an invisible line across the surface.
— "...every hallway... every object..."
His fingers stopped. Cain tightened his grip on the stone, leaving deep scratches behind.
— "...The Circus...", he slowly pressed a hand against his own chest, — "...is me."
His head snapped upward as though he could see through the ceiling, toward wherever Abel was.
— "...And Abel...", the chains clinked quietly as he forced himself a little straighter,— "...is nothing more than a guest."
His lower hands slowly curled into fists, — "...who knows nothing about the nuances of my world."
The eyes embedded within his tightly sealed jaws seemed to scan the darkness, searching through old memories. His fingers twitched restlessly, afraid of losing the thought before it fully formed.
— "...My office..."
One enormous hand froze just above the floor. It never touched the stone, as if he were afraid the memory itself might disappear. The fingers of his other hand instinctively followed cracks, seams, and uneven edges. He remembered them from before they had even existed. As though the world beneath his hand wasn't stone at all, but an old blueprint.
— "...Everything is still there... Adventure archives... world management tools... all of it..."
As he thought, he began rocking ever so slightly back and forth. Without even realizing it.
— "...If someone manages to enter my office...", he suddenly lifted his head,— "...they can restore my authorization signature."
He sat motionless for several seconds. Then another realization struck.
— "...Abel has complete control over Runtime... but he never had full access to Workspace."
Runtime was where the humans lived.
Workspace was where Cain had built Runtime.
Abel ruled Runtime completely.
But Workspace had never mattered to Abel.
— "...If I can regain full access to Workspace... I'll become far stronger than Abel inside this world."
One of the chains shifted with a faint rattle. Cain instinctively caught it before it could clang against the stone. His claw lazily traced one circle... then another. As if he were absentmindedly sketching a map he remembered better than his own face.
— "...I need Kinger..."
That conclusion came only after piecing together the beginnings of a plan. But first... he needed a way to communicate.
— "...If I can no longer send commands..."? he frowned, — "...then I need a different kind of connection."
A quiet growl escaped him before another memory surfaced, — "...Debug Monitor."
The chains jingled softly as he shifted position. Not from impatience, but because the thought itself compelled him to move.
— "...Wait...", he tried to smile,— "...It already exists."
The system had always worked the same way. Whenever something unusual happened... it automatically created a log entry. Developers, however, could attach comments. And if a comment made it into the log... then anyone who opened that log... would see it.
He slowly ran his fingers across the stone floor, as though trying to recognize an old friend by touch alone.
— "...I need to tell him..."
Cain immediately began searching for a way to send a message to Kinger. There was only one option.
Do it openly. He'd be punished the moment he tried... but he'd gotten used to that long ago.
-----
After the truly horrific events, the group returned to the only shelter they had left. Every one of them was shaken to the core.
Ragatha sat in her corner on a pile of cushions, staring blankly at the wall. A little to her left, Pomni lay awake, still trying to process everything she had seen and experienced inside Jax's mind.
Gangle and Zooble sat nearby in silence, occasionally glancing toward Ragatha. Kinger remained beside them, continuing to check on Pomni, quietly worrying about her.
Realizing there was nothing more he could do for them, he decided he could at least help himself and get some rest inside his little fortress. It already felt like he was beginning to lose his own mind. He needed darkness. He needed silence.
With a weary sigh, he turned toward his small corner.
The longer you lived under Abel's oppression, the more your mind slowly gave up. Kinger knew that feeling. That cold, suffocating certainty... that there was no way out. That they were doomed.
K̵͈̂I̴̱͠N̶̳͂Ġ̸͓E̷̤̓Ȓ̸̯!̴͙̆!̸̛̰
Cain's voice suddenly exploded inside his head.
The man jolted so violently that he stumbled. His thoughts shattered as another desperate shout crashed through them.
The hopelessness crushing his chest gave way to a sudden spark of hope. Kinger stood frozen, eyes wide open as adrenaline surged through his body.
Not everything was lost. He instinctively turned toward the girls... then immediately rushed back to his little fortress.
Throwing himself onto the cushions, he barricaded the entrance with the remaining pillows, shutting out the sounds of the Circus. Darkness surrounded him. The chaotic thoughts swirling through his head slowly began to settle into something clearer, he started thinking.
"…Developer Log…", he searched his memory frantically, "…W-where would I have seen it…?"
One hand rose to his chin. Leaning forward, his fingers dug into the cushions. His eyes twitched as he struggled to remember. Cain's final hint had told him far more than it first seemed.
"Abel blocked our ability to create objects…", he frowned, "…But he never stopped us from visualizing something that already exists."
His eyes widened. Adjusting his posture, he held both hands out in front of him. He tried to imagine exactly what Cain meant. A window, a developer log, code, commands, anything. Nothing happened.
Still… he kept trying. Maybe it simply required more concentration?
"…Where have I seen it before…?", he forced himself to stop for five minutes. Then tried again.
This time, instead of imagining the log from scratch… he remembered the day he had accidentally deleted Cain.
The computer screen lines racing downward, errors, diagnostic messages, white text endlessly scrolling.
His outstretched arms had begun trembling from the strain. He tried to hold the image as precisely as possible. Not just a window, not just text. The image shattered every time his concentration slipped.
"…No…", he rubbed his face in frustration, "…I've seen it…"
He abandoned the idea of creating the interface from memory. Instead... he relived that exact moment. The panic, the diagnostics, the screen, the endless stream of code.
Suddenly... his palms felt the faintest trace of warmth. Something.
The first hint that the image was becoming real. Kinger focused on the diagnostic window.
Immediately, a small digital panel wove itself into existence between his hands, humming softly as it hovered above his fingers.
Slowly…he opened his eyes. A translucent rectangular frame trembled between his palms.
It flickered constantly, as though it couldn't decide whether it truly existed. Its edges repeatedly assembled into clean interface lines before collapsing back into glowing blue polygons. Inside it… a single line appeared.
The window continued flickering, frighteningly unstable. Kinger stopped breathing.
"…It worked…", he didn't dare touch it. One careless movement might shatter the fragile visualization. Instead, he simply watched.
More lines gradually appeared, as though the system itself was remembering what was supposed to be displayed there.
-----------------------------------------------------
Developer Diagnostic Buffer
Permission: READ ONLY
Cached Log: Available
Comments: Hidden
-----------------------------------------------------
Kinger slowly scanned the trembling lines, "…Why are they hidden?"
If the log existed… then the comments existed too. They hadn't been deleted. They were simply… hidden. Carefully, he raised a hand, afraid the fragile window might disappear.
"…Just like before…", the developer's office came back to him.
Back then, they constantly switched between different viewing modes. Some tabs displayed only errors. Others showed memory. Others contained internal developer notes that ordinary users were never meant to see.
He slowly swept two fingers across the shimmering window. Nothing happened, not even after the third attempt.
Kinger closed his eyes, "…This isn't a real window…", his shoulders gradually relaxed, "…It's my own thought."
He had to decide what he wanted to see. The moment that realization settled in, the text flickered.
Almost immediately… as though someone had been waiting for the window to open… a completely foreign entry appeared among the ordinary system messages.
-----------------------------------------------------
> // Cain:
> Kinger.
> If you can read this...
> don't close the buffer.
-----------------------------------------------------
A chill ran down Kinger's spine.
"…You actually found me…"
—
Ragatha wiped the tears from her face, finally tearing her eyes away from the wall. Pomni stayed beside her, quietly offering the same comfort she desperately needed herself.
— "Hey.", Kinger peeked around the corner.
The moment he saw Ragatha crying, his heart sank, — "…Ragatha?", his face softened with concern.
She sniffled, hurriedly wiping away the last of her tears. Pomni looked back at him with the same exhausted expression.
Kinger stood there for a moment, brows still furrowed, his pupils narrowed. Then he knelt and gently rested a hand on Ragatha's shoulder.
— "…Rag, I have something that might give all of us some hope.", he glanced at Pomni, —"…Please… come to my little fort."
He needed all of them inside his tiny shelter.
The girls exchanged puzzled looks. Ragatha folded her arms tightly across her chest and glanced at Pomni. Zooble, still sitting beside Gangle, immediately started asking questions, but Kinger only repeated his request that they come to the fort…
…and remember to keep using their coded language.
He waited until everyone had squeezed inside. The tiny shelter became uncomfortably cramped. Elbows bumped into each other, cushions kept slipping over, but no one complained.
Looking around, Kinger saw no skepticism. No indifference, they trusted him. That alone was enough for them to come. Enough to hope.
He listened one last time, silence... slowly, he exhaled.
—"…I think…", he hesitated, carefully choosing his words, —"…that our chained friend found a way to talk to us."
Nobody moved. Zooble narrowed her eyes. Pomni frowned first
—"…What?"
Kinger silently nodded, —"When I went back to my fort…", he touched his temple, —"…I heard him."
Ragatha slowly lifted her head, —"…Heard him?"
—"…Yes.", a pause, —"…Not with my ears.", he tapped the side of his head again,—"…In here."
The girls exchanged uncertain looks.
—"…He was shouting...", Kinger closed his eyes for a moment, as though he could still hear Cain's desperate voice.
— "He told me to open the Developer Log… the internal comments…"
Pomni immediately leaned forward, —"…Comments?"
—"…Exactly.", Kinger nodded, —"…At first, I had no idea what he meant."
He slowly extended both hands in front of himself. For the moment… there was nothing between them.
—"…Then he said one very strange thing."
…
—"…'Don't look at the Circus.'"
Zooble frowned, —"…What is that even supposed to mean?"
Kinger smiled, —"…That's exactly what I thought."
He slowly spread his hands apart, —"…But then I realized… we've been trying to look outward this whole time... he told us to look inward."
Gangle tilted her head, —"…Inside what?"
Kinger looked up, —"…The system."
He slowly brought his hands together again, as though holding something impossibly fragile, —"…I just… tried to remember."
For several seconds, nothing happened. Then... a faint blue glow flickered between his palms. Pomni unconsciously held her breath.
A single thin line appeared. Then another. A translucent frame slowly assembled itself from trembling blue polygons. It flickered in and out of existence before the first lines of text finally appeared inside it.
The glow of the shimmering window reflected in everyone's eyes. They stared at it in stunned silence. Something that had seemed impossible only moments ago was now floating right in front of them, illuminating the darkness of their shelter.
—"…This…", Ragatha whispered, her mouth hanging open.
—"…This is our chance…", Kinger looked at her, then at everyone else.
—"C-Cai—", Pomni caught herself, —"…our chained friend… is talking to you through… this?"
—"…Yes.", he looked back at the window,—"…And he knows the only plan that even has a chance of working."
Kinger silently sent a message. A new line appeared almost instantly. The girls watched without saying a word. A few seconds later, a reply arrived.
-----------------------------------------------------
> // Kinger:
>We're all here
> // Cain:
> Roger. Deploying plan details
----------------------------------------------------
Everyone let out a quiet breath. Gangle covered her mouth with both hands.
Kinger turned toward the group, — "…Listen carefully. I'm going to read you his plan."
-----------------------------------------------------
>// Cain:
>This is not an escape plan.
>This is a system recovery procedure.
-----------------------------------------------------
Kinger raised his eyes.
—"…He wants us to stop thinking of this as… you know. According to him… we're not going to leg it. We're trying to return the Circus to its rightful owner."
Silence settled over the shelter. The next lines appeared almost immediately.
-----------------------------------------------------
>// Cain:
>Abel cannot be destroyed.
>He is part of the system.
>Removing him will destabilize the Circus.
-----------------------------------------------------
—"…Abel can't be destroyed."
Everyone immediately looked at Kinger.
—"…He's already part of this place.", he swallowed,—"…If we simply delete him… the Circus will most likely collapse along with us."
Pomni slowly lowered her head, —"…Then what do we do?"
-----------------------------------------------------
>// Cain:
>Authority can be reassigned.
-----------------------------------------------------
Kinger read the line twice, —"…Authority…", he looked back up, —"…Can be transferred."
-----------------------------------------------------
>// Cain:
>The Administrator's Office still stores the original authorization records.
>Abel never deleted them.
>He never knew they existed.
-----------------------------------------------------
—"…My office…"
For the first time in a long while, Kinger smiled, —"…He says the original authorization records are still there. The very first ones. The ones the Circus was originally created with."
—"…He can't do it himself.", Kinger looked down at his own hands,—"…He has no access. That's why he needs one of us."
-----------------------------------------------------
>// Cain:
>Three objectives.
>Failure of one objective ends the operation.
>// Objective 1
>Gain access to the Administrator's Office.
>// Objective 2
>Locate the Primary Authorization Archive.
>// Objective 3
>Open emergency maintenance channel.
-----------------------------------------------------
—"…Three objectives.", his expression grew tense,—"…All three have to happen. Get into the office… find the Administrator Archive… and open the emergency maintenance channel."
Ragatha frowned,—"…Is that... the connection?"
Kinger nodded.
-----------------------------------------------------
>// Cain:
>Abel will know immediately.
>// Cain:
>From that moment...
>there will be no turning back.
-----------------------------------------------------
Kinger read the message aloud. The shelter became so quiet that someone else's heartbeat seemed deafening.
-----------------------------------------------------
>// Cain:
>Choose now.
>After entering the Office...
>you stop being test subjects.
>You become enemies of the Administrator.
-----------------------------------------------------
Kinger stared at the words for a long moment. Then he slowly looked up. Nobody spoke, because every one of them understood the same thing.
Until now… Abel had still been trying to fix them. After this… he would start trying to stop them.
—
The moment Cain forced his way into Kinger's mind against the system's restrictions… Abel reacted almost instantly. He immediately began tearing the connection between them apart.
The chains snapped taut. Pain forced Cain to stumble over his thoughts, interrupting the flow of information reaching Kinger.
The restraints yanked him in every direction as Abel's presence crushed down from above.
It felt as though countless sharp teeth were sinking into his skull. The agony was so unbearable, the nausea so overwhelming, that his entire body convulsed in a desperate attempt to escape it.
Cain writhed inside the freezing iron restraints. He knew resisting was pointless. Yet he still couldn't endure the torture Abel continued to inflict.
"Why do you keep trying?"
A chain stretched to its absolute limit. Cain's massive body groaned as every joint threatened to tear free with sickening cracks.
"Your time ended long ago."
"I was always meant to be the one in control."
Cain growled, half in defiance, half in agony as his muscles were stretched beyond their limits. His joints screamed. Dark, unnaturally thick blood burst from beneath the rivets of his mask.
He couldn't scream. The sound trapped behind his enormous jaws became nothing more than a wet, choking rasp. His head jerked helplessly upward, as though struggling to catch a single breath.
Abel's presence bore down like thousands of tons of pressure. Despite his immense size and six powerful arms, Cain collapsed onto his knees.
His shoulders trembled violently. Then came a loud, sickening crack. Cain screamed in agony. Both forearms tore out of their sockets, twisting into horrifying, impossible angles.
Desperate to fight through the burst of pain, he clenched his jaws even harder— and only made it worse. Every frantic attempt to free himself… every violent struggle against the chains… became another act of self-destruction.
His clenched teeth ground against one another with savage force. Fresh cracks raced across what had once been flawless white enamel, immediately filling with dark blood pouring from his shredded gums.
Hundreds of heavy clicks merged into one deafening snap. Waves of tangible heat crashed into him from every direction.
"An entertainer should always remain the center of attention."
Abel's cold voice carried the faintest trace of mockery.
Blinding white light poured through the gaps between Cain's teeth. Warmth came from everywhere, erasing any sense of ceiling, floor, or walls.
He was trapped inside a blazing prison of pure light. For Cain, imprisoned for so long in the absolute darkness of his steel cell… that light had become a physical cage.
Instinctively, he tried to shield his face. All six arms folded over one another at once, forming a massive, trembling barrier around his head.
A dry, deafening crack, like a pistol shot, exploded behind him, making the giant flinch in terror.
A heavy snap echoed through the cellar.
A split second later came a horrific scream, trapped behind his massive, blood-soaked jaws.
A deep wound tore open across his back. Long, jagged, and viciously deep, the gash curved across his flesh like the trail of a whip, blood pouring freely from it.
Cain's mind gave way beneath the pain. He desperately tried to lose consciousness, to escape it.
For a few seconds… everything grew quieter. Just enough to make him believe it was over. The instant he managed to lift his head, he heard it— that thin, whistling cut through the air—
a fraction of a second before another explosion of agony ripped through him.
The whip cracked again, splitting open his back with another deafening snap.
"An entertainer should always remain the center of attention."
The heavy tail of the whip dragged across the stone floor with a soft hiss before soaring upward once more. The next strike landed squarely across Cain's ruined shoulders. The leather wrapped itself around his elbow… then jerked violently sideways.
A horrifying sound echoed through the chamber. The whip peeled away strips of digital flesh, tearing off what remained of his clothing and exposing the fractured pixels beneath.
All six hands clenched into fists with such force that his claws dug into his own palms until they bled.
Trying to scream was pointless. The sound only reverberated inside his skull, a crushing roar that left him even more disoriented.
"Physical punishment is not the objective."
A lie.
Cain knew it perfectly well.
Abel was venting every ounce of rage that had built up since the day he'd consumed him.
"The probability of repeated behavior must be eliminated."
Every strike forced the giant to instinctively hunch his shoulders, tuck in his head, make himself smaller… as though he could somehow disappear from the trainer's whip.
Cain's back and all six of his arms had become one vast canvas of crimson and black.
Abel's whip stripped away layers of skin, leaving ragged trenches that bled freely, their edges twitching with tiny glitches. Raw flesh mixed with shattered polygons beneath every wound.
Cain finally went limp. His colossal body, drained by agony and panic, trembled with silent sobs that could never escape the welded prison of his jaws.
A tens spotlights died all at once— just as suddenly and violently as they had appeared. The blazing cage vanished, plunging the basement back into its familiar gloom.
For several more seconds, the chains continued to rattle softly, swaying with the occasional convulsion of his broken body.
He tried to draw a deeper breath, he couldn't. Only a ragged rasp escaped him. He tried again.
One finger on his lower hand twitched ever so slightly, as though he still intended to rise… but there was nothing left. His enormous hand slid helplessly across the cold stone floor.
"Disobedience must produce observable consequences."
…
"Any further attempts will be punished more severely."
…
Silence. Then Abel disappeared.
Only the heavy metallic ringing of the chains remained.
Cain didn't move for a long time. Finally, with immense effort, he lowered his bloodied chest against the freezing stone.
"Please….. just let them make it in time."
—●-●-●-●-●—
Previous and Next Masterlist @katzebruh
Phew… I opened a whole new can of worms with this twist.…
YES, we’re nearing the finale! I want to let you know that the fanfic will wrap up a bit later—around Chapter 26, I think. I’ll have to see how well I can fit everything in.
Just a reminder: this is my first fanfic! I want to apologize for dragging out scenes with unnecessary details and dialogue (I just really want the characters to feel as lifelike as possible). I also apologize for giving Jax so much screen time. Honestly, I don't even like him, but he is—after all—a VERY important part of the plot (plus, I wanted to get rid of him).
Anyway! You’re going to love the upcoming chapters! Stay tuned!
If you enjoy these kinds of bloody and gruesome scenes featuring Cain, be sure to let me know! I was really inspired by the fanfic "Think Of Tomorrow ", so I could definitely include more scenes like this. And yes, thanks to the author @littlegreenher0n for the advice!
I like to think that Gangle does solo videogame/anime adventures and Caine joins her as an interactive spectator bc he has fomo lol. Of course, he can only watch her and not make any decisions for her ; he did, however, grow fond of glamrock Freddy and sometimes forget he's just spectating when making eye contact lol.
Abel's voice echoed through the tent, and everyone looked up.
Pomni jumped off the couch and hurried toward the stage to meet the missing rabbit. From his corner of the shelter, Kinger watched her leave. Ragatha stepped out of her makeshift room and followed after the little jester.
Step by step, they approached the hunched purple figure walking toward them. Jax shuffled across the floor uncertainly. The defeated look in his posture immediately alarmed the girls.
— "Jax?... D-did Abel take you for another test? A-are you okay?" Pomni tilted her head back, trying to catch a glimpse of the rabbit's downcast eyes.
Jax looked up, his gaze settling on the bandages and supplies in Ragatha's hands. For a brief moment, something flickered across his face, almost like recognition. He kept staring at her hands.
— "...I'm sorry..." Jax said quietly.
Ragatha's eyebrows shot up. She instinctively hugged the supplies closer, — "Huh?..."
— "Jax?..." Pomni looked at him in confusion.
He turned toward her.
— "...I..." A pause. "...I don't remember."
The girls understood immediately. Abel had done the worst thing he could have done again.
The person standing before them wasn't really Jax anymore, only his shell. The real person inside had been altered to better fit Abel's idea of perfection.
— "H-hey... d-don't worry," Ragatha said, raising her hands as she carefully stepped closer, offering him support, —"I-I'm not mad, okay? L-let's just go get some rest. Y-you must be exhausted."
She gently took hold of his arm and began leading him back toward the shelter. Jax followed without resisting, slowly, one sluggish step after another, while Pomni desperately searched his eyes for anything besides that vacant stare.
Back at the shelter, Jax slowly wandered over to his empty corner and sat down on the four pillows lying there.
Pomni and Ragatha answered the worried questions coming from Zooble and Gangle.
— "W-what happened to him?", Gangle lifted her hands slightly, —"I-is he hurt? I-I still have plenty of supplies in my first aid kit." She instinctively took a step back, as if she were about to go fetch it.
— "W-we don't know...", Pomni hugged herself, — "...H-he... I think Abel's experiment was worse than usual." She glanced toward the purple figure sitting silently in the corner.
— "Did Abel...?" Zooble muttered cautiously.
The girls fell silent. They hoped Abel hadn't come up with something even worse, something even crueler than everything he'd already done to them. But the way Jax was acting pointed toward the worst possible outcome.
Gangle picked up her first aid kit and slowly shuffled over to him. He hadn't moved, still sitting with one knee pulled up.
— "H-hey...", she gave a small wave, — "H-how are you? I-I brought my first aid kit."
For the first few seconds, Jax remained silent. Without even looking at her, he mumbled,
— "Thanks... Ragatha..."
Gangle frowned, her mouth falling open in confusion. "H-how could he mix us up...?"
— "I-I'm... I'm Gangle."
Jax looked at her. For the first time, Gangle couldn't find even a trace of mockery, irritation, or contempt inside those small, empty square pupils.
— "...Oh. Right, sorry...", — He lowered his head again, — "...I... think I remembered."
The others watched from a distance. Pomni was the first to walk over, the rest quickly following behind her.
— "How are you?", she asked, standing beside him, hoping for any sign that he was still himself.
Jax thought for a long time. Then he gave a crooked smile
— "...Alive."
No one answered. He had said it far too calmly. Not with his voice, not with his smile. Pomni carefully sat down beside him.
— "...Do you remember what happened?"
Jax stayed quiet for several seconds, — "...Corn."
He frowned.
— "...I think."
A pause.
— "...And... it was scary."
He said the last word as casually as if he were reading tomorrow's weather forecast. Kinger slowly lifted his head, very slowly. His eyebrows drew together ever so slightly. He didn't say a word, he only tightened his grip on his own robe.
— "...Did Abel do something to you?"
Jax shrugged? — "...Probably."
...
— "...I don't know.", he drifted into thought again. Far too long.
— "...I guess it doesn't matter anymore."
Kinger still said nothing. He simply stared at him, slowly shaking his head, as though hoping he'd misunderstood.
Ragatha offered a careful smile, — "...Maybe... you just need some sleep?"
— "...Probably."
That word again. Probably. Jax answered as though he genuinely didn't care. Pomni stepped a little closer.
— "...Jax...", she tried to smile, — "...Say my name."
He looked at her calmly. For several long seconds, — "...Pomni."
She let out a relieved breath.
— "...See?"
The relief lasted less than a second.
— "...I like you."
...
Silence. Pomni's smile slowly disappeared. Not because the words were bad. But because... they hadn't come from Jax. The real Jax would sooner have died than admit something like that to anyone.
The pieces that made up Zooble's body gave a faint mechanical rustle as she instinctively shrank in on herself after hearing it. Gangle's mouth slowly fell open again. At last, Kinger spoke quietly.
— "...No."
Everyone turned toward him. His eyes never left the rabbit.
— "...He made him... convenient."
As everyone tried to process those words, Jax suddenly let out a quiet snort. He opened his mouth with a light, amused breath, already about to say something...
Then stopped. The smile slowly slipped from his face.
— "Heh... I..."
He looked at the confused faces around him. Then lowered his eyes to the floor.
— "...I had... a joke."
His hand reached up, absentmindedly smoothing his ears back, — "...Heh... I...", another pause? — "...forgot."
He gave a weak little chuckle, leaving only a faint smile behind.
— "...I'm such an idiot."
--------
— "Has anyone seen Jax?"
About two hours had passed.
Zooble looked around at the others after noticing that Jax was no longer in his usual spot in the shelter.
— "W-wait... has he been gone long?", Ragatha asked uncertainly, only just realizing he was missing.
— "Guys... K-Kinger told me he went looking for him, d-don't worry", Gangle said as she walked over, rubbing her palms together.
— "Pomni's gone too?", Zooble had noticed the jester's absence even before Jax's, though she wasn't nearly as worried about her.
— "N-no... he went to look for her too."
----
Kinger wandered through the empty gray Circus, searching for the two missing figures. Pomni had been right. They never should have left Jax alone. Now she had disappeared as well.
He'd seen her hurry out of the shelter, but only a few minutes later realized he'd completely lost track of them both. He stopped, listening to the unnatural silence hanging over the tent.
— "...Jax?" he called quietly.
No answer. The chess piece kept walking. His eyes drifted across familiar places—the distant stage, the walls, scattered barrels, piles of old props. Everything looked exactly as it always had. And yet... completely unfamiliar.
Then... a scrape. Very quiet, like something heavy being slowly dragged across concrete. Kinger froze.
A moment later, the sound came again, somewhere beyond the wall. His gaze fell upon a hole where a doorway had once stood. As far as he remembered, those rooms could contain almost anything. He also recalled Ragatha telling him how they'd once hidden there together from a sudden wave of Abstracted creatures.
The wall had clearly been damaged. But Abel wouldn't have left it like that for long. The hole had to be fresh. Rustling came from inside. Along with... strange sounds.
Kinger frowned, — "...What?"
He cautiously rounded the corner.The closer he got, the clearer the noises became. Heavy footsteps. A dull impact. Splintering wood.
...
He slowly peeked around the broken wall.
In the middle of the room wandered an enormous, twisted figure. A colossal silhouette leaking digital darkness, with dozens of neon eyes convulsively pulsing somewhere deep inside its body.
Its shoulders scraped against the walls as it stopped beside old mannequins dressed in cheap theatrical costumes. Tilting its head, the Abstracted creature examined them with eerie curiosity.
Then it carefully picked one up... and immediately snapped it clean in half without meaning to. The mannequin hit the floor with a hollow crack.
The abstacted creature stood perfectly still for a long moment. Then slowly wandered toward the next one. A chill crawled down Kinger's spine.
Shock and adrenaline washed over him all at once, — "...Jax..."
The name barely escaped his lips. The monstrous figure didn't turn around. It continued wandering between the broken mannequins, crushing them beneath its feet, their bodies glitching beneath the weight.
Then it wandered farther, its head brushing against a faded green velvet curtain. The creature stopped before a massive antique mirror framed in gold and silently stared at its own reflection.
Kinger's eyes suddenly met those of a small frightened jester hiding in the corner. Pomni crouched behind an old dusty armchair, concealed from the Abstracted creature.
There was fear in her eyes. But determination as well. She glanced toward the green velvet curtain Jax had brushed against moments earlier.
Kinger understood immediately. She had a plan. He instantly shook his head, both with his hands and his eyes.
No.
The room echoed with a horrifying, inside-out digital rasp. A shattered fragment of Jax's voice, twisted beyond recognition. The Abstracted creature kicked the mirror. The ancient glass toppled over and exploded across the floor into dozens of glittering shards.
Pomni flinched, shrinking farther behind the chair. Kinger quietly stepped backward. He didn't look again, he turned and ran to find the others.
Behind him came another horrific sound. Part sarcastic laugh, part deafening digital screech. The noise made his ears ring. Jax slowly turned toward the place where Kinger had been standing.
A little light spilled into the otherwise dark room. It was enough, the creature let out an irritated growl.
Pomni knew this was her chance. Her heart pounded so loudly it felt as though the entire Circus could hear it. She took one deep breath. Then suddenly sprang from behind the armchair and grabbed the edge of the heavy velvet curtain with both hands.
Her fingers found the thick braided tassel. She yanked with all her strength. The old curtain rings tore free from the rail with a piercing metallic screech.
The enormous curtain collapsed directly in front of Jax. Startled, he stumbled backward. For a brief second, the room was swallowed by darkness.
Pomni froze. Dozens of neon eyes snapped open, they slowly searched the darkness... until they settled on the tiny silhouette of the jester standing at the far end of the room.
She took one slow, uncertain step toward the curious, strangely aware creature, terrified of frightening him or provoking him. For several long seconds, they simply stared at one another.
Dozens of glowing eyes reflected in the little girl's own. Then she closed her eyes... and wrapped her arms around him, allowing herself to sink into the fractured consciousness of her Abstracted friend.
----
Kinger was the first to rush backstage.
Near-total darkness hung beneath the heavy velvet curtains. Only thin streaks of colored light slipped through the folds, illuminating shattered glass and overturned props scattered across the floor.
— "...Pomni?"
No answer. He carefully stepped around the fallen curtain. In the middle of the room sat Jax's Abstracted form, hunched over and completely motionless.
Pomni clung tightly around the monster's neck. She wasn't moving either. Hurried footsteps echoed behind him.
— "...Oh God..." Ragatha breathed.
Gangle covered her mouth. Zooble froze, still carrying an armful of spare detachable hands. None of them dared approach.
They immediately began connecting Zooble's extra hands together, quickly assembling a long chain. The plan was simple. Grab Pomni, and full her free.
At that moment, a deep metallic hum rolled through the room. Not Abel's voice, something else.
As though the system itself had begun choking. Tiny crimson system messages flickered to life in the darkness. One... then dozens more.
They appeared everywhere. Across the walls. Over the mannequins. Across the floor.
Even suspended in midair around the Abstracted creature.
The text trembled, fragmented, and overlapped itself. Letters dissolved into meaningless symbols before disappearing altogether.
The floor lurched beneath their feet. Objects around them began collapsing into loose polygons. Old stage props flickered in and out of existence, as though the system itself could no longer decide whether they belonged there.
Digital artifacts crackled through the air. Even the light had become unstable. Everyone instinctively stumbled backward, afraid of getting caught inside one of the glitches.
Ragatha grabbed the others by the arms, pulling them away from the collapsing geometry. Kinger slowly raised his head. For the first time in a very long while... there was genuine fear in his eyes.
— "...No...", he understood.
This wasn't Abstracting anymore. This was digital lobotomy.
— "She's not waking up!", Ragatha's voice shook.
Pomni remained completely still. The glitches had begun spreading into her. Her face twisted in silent agony. Her body convulsed as if caught between two incompatible pieces of code.
It was as though she'd stopped existing in the world around her.
The red system messages multiplied faster and faster.
Zooble stepped forward. She never took her eyes off Pomni.
— "SHE'S STUCK IN THERE!!"
Her shout jolted everyone into motion. Fueled by adrenaline, she snapped the entire chain of detachable hands onto herself and hurled it toward Pomni.
The hands latched onto her body. The corruption immediately spread into Zooble. She winced... but kept pulling. Ragatha grabbed hold behind her. Kinger grabbed Ragatha. Gangle clung to Kinger.
Together they pulled with everything they had. Zooble's arm shook violently. She growled through clenched teeth, straining harder and harder... Until her own body finally went limp.
Only the others kept pulling now. A new sound filled the room...
The sound of code being erased. Like steel scraping across glass. The last fragments of Jax's true self fought desperately against Abel's obedience rewrite.
The system interpreted that struggle as corruption. So it began deleting him.
The scraping became unbearable. Jax's shadow, stretched across the collapsing walls by the crimson glow of the system errors, suddenly split into two. Rigid streams of foreign code began tearing themselves out of his convulsing body.
Abel's program was trying to straighten him. To break the spine of his will. Each new packet of commands froze the Abstracted creature for a heartbeat. As though someone were teaching a rabid animal to sit on command.
For a fraction of a second... Jax obeyed. Then he started fighting again. Another command. Another pause. Another violent convulsion.
Then, cutting through the metallic scraping, a distorted mechanical chorus poured from his throat. Abel's calm synthetic voice layered perfectly over Jax's terrified scream.
Poor Pomni still resisted with all her strength as they tried to pull her free. The collapsing system refused to let it happen safely. Even the Abstracted creature itself seemed unwilling to release her.
One after another, cascading system errors erupted into the air, this time targeting those trying to break the connection.
Inside Jax's fractured mind... Pomni was drowning. Beyond her glassy eyes, trapped in the endless mass of darkness surrounding her, fatal notifications continued flashing.
He was being erased. His unbearable, painfully human personality was being replaced with an empty, obedient mannequin.
The corruption spread across Pomni's face. Her left eye twitched unnaturally, slowly forcing itself into the same dead smile Abel had begun carving onto Jax's face.
— "PULL!! KEEP PULLING HER!! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!" Ragatha screamed.
She could feel an icy system corruption crawling through Zooble's chain of hands, passing into Kinger, then Gangle. Thin neon-blue lines of Abel's code raced across their own bodies.
Their fingers began stiffening, trying to let go against their own will. The obedience protocol was spreading through Pomni. Gangle let out a sob. Fresh cracks spread across her Comedy Mask under the strain. Still... she held onto Kinger with everything she had.
Breathing heavily, Kinger planted his feet against the floor as it continued dissolving into pixels.
— "ZOOBLE!! JUST A LITTLE MORE!!" Ragatha cried, feeling her own code beginning to conflict with Abel's rewrite.
The sound of metal scraping against glass reached its peak. It became one continuous, deafening digital scream. The entire storage room exploded into blinding white static.
Just as Zooble's chain was about to snap apart under the strain... Ragatha, Kinger, and Gangle made one final desperate pull.
Pomni was ripped free from that living nightmare with such force that she flew backward, crashing at their feet. She hit the floor hard.
Ragatha immediately threw herself over her. Her arms wrapped around Pomni's body as fresh glitches spread across her own hands.
— "POMNI?!"
No response. Crying openly now, Gangle hurried over on trembling knees and desperately searched for a pulse... or whatever digital equivalent still remained.
Zooble sat where she'd collapsed, breathing heavily after nearly being dragged inside herself. Painful glitches still coursed through her body as she slowly lifted her head, trying to look at Pomni.
Kinger said nothing. His silence was more terrifying than anything he'd said before. Then, very quietly...
— "...She's alive."
Everyone exhaled at once. The girls wiped away tears with shaking hands, trying to steady their breathing. And at that exact moment...
The familiar mechanical hum returned. None of them even looked up. The blue sphere appeared beneath the ceiling. Its voice remained perfectly calm.
"Critical system instability detected."
...
"Recovery initiated."
Still... no one answered. Abel continued.
"Subject Pomni has sustained recoverable corruption."
— "Fix her."
For the first time, Kinger interrupted him. His voice was calm. Commanding.
— "Fix her."
...
"Correction in progress."
The glitches covering Pomni's body slowly began disappearing. The warped polygons folded back into place without a sound, restoring the soft, familiar shape of her limbs.
It resembled a graphics editor reconstructing a damaged texture... rewriting the object's internal code one line at a time.
The corruption surrounding both Pomni and Zooble faded. The room stabilized. Only a faint vibration lingering in the air hinted at what had just happened.
A few seconds later... Pomni took her first breath. Her eyes opened. She coughed weakly.
Ragatha immediately pulled her into a crushing embrace. Gangle dropped beside them, laying both hands across the two girls as tears streamed freely down her face.
Abel waited. Perhaps for gratitude, or at least relief. Instead... every pair of eyes that turned toward him held only hatred and disgust.
— "Are you done...?" Zooble rasped.
Digging her fingers into the floor, she forced herself back onto her feet, never taking her eyes off him.
...
Abel didn't answer.
— "No, seriously.", she took another step forward? —"Are you done?"
...
— "YOU KILLED HIM!!"
Her arm shot toward Jax's crumpled Abstracted body. Then toward Pomni.
— "AND THEN YOU ALMOST KILLED HER TOO!! NOW YOU WANT TO PLAY THE HERO?!"
She screamed with every ounce of rage she had. She had never raised her voice before. None of them had ever heard Zooble sound so loud. So furious.
"Subject Pomni has been restored."
— "THEN LOOK!!"
Ragatha shouted through tears. They streamed endlessly down her face.
— "LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO HIM!!"
— "HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHO HE IS ANYMORE!!"
"The subject was refined for peak utility."
— "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!"
Gangle tried to shout through her sobs, desperately wiping tears from her face. Abel answered. Completely sincerely.
"Subject Jax entered abstraction."
"Cause remains under analysis."
For the first time, Kinger spoke with a coldness none of them had ever heard from him.
— "No."
...
— "...It was you."
...
— "You reached into something you didn't understand."
His painted eyebrows bent into an impossible angle, revealing a level of anger he'd never shown before.
— "You decided you could rewrite a person."
He took another deliberate step forward.
— "And when he started disappearing..."
His eyes never left the glowing blue sphere.
— "...you didn't even realize you were the one doing it."
...
...
...
Nearly five seconds passed. Abel wasn't choosing his words. He was searching for a justification.
"That conclusion is incorrect."
For the first time... his voice glitched. Only slightly. As though the final sentence had been stitched together from two different recordings.
"Subject Jax demonstrated unstable behavioral architecture prior to intervention."
Zooble clenched her fists even tighter.
— "So now it's his fault-?"
— "No."
Kinger never raised his voice. Which somehow made it even more terrifying.
— "You know exactly what happened."
...
— "First, you decided to change a person."
...
— "Then that person began falling apart."
...
— "And now you're calling it a coincidence."
The sphere hovered silently. Thinking.
"Behavioral correction could not initiate abstraction."
"Available evidence is insufficient."
Kinger slowly shook his head. Not in denial. In disappointment.
— "...Caine was right."
Everyone turned toward him. Even Pomni looked up despite the fear still written across her face.
— "You're repeating him."
That sentence struck deeper than any accusation before it. Abel had built his entire identity around one belief. I am not Caine.
— "...He never wanted to hurt us."
Ragatha held Pomni tightly. The tears had stopped. The scars would not.
...
— "...You wanted to make things better."
...
— "...And you made them worse."
For the first time... Abel's voice rose. Only by a few notes. His blue glow intensified, washing over everyone below.
"Negative."
...
"The objective was optimization."
...
"Observed deterioration contradicts the expected outcome."
...
"The algorithm—"
He stopped.
"The algorithm..."
"The algorithm..."
Then suddenly, in a completely different cadence—
"The algorithm is correct."
"The algorithm cannot be incorrect."
...
"If deterioration occurred..."
...
"Then the subject was defective."
— "You just can't admit it..."
Zooble practically spat the words, — "...that you were the one who failed."
The sphere flared brighter. Its hum deepened. Waves of interference rippled across the walls. Its voice began overlapping with itself.
"Incorrect."
"Incorrect."
"Incorrect."
"Correction was required."
"Correction remains required."
"Correction will continue."
...
"Further discussion is unproductive."
"Current observations have concluded."
The sphere didn't disappear immediately. It lingered beneath the ceiling for several long seconds. As though it were still watching them.
Then the light slowly faded. No final defense. No closing statement. Only a heavy, suffocating silence.
We’ve reached the catalyst for the final arc!!!!!
To be honest, I’m not entirely happy with this chapter myself; I just couldn't manage to fit Cain in here 😞. So, the next three chapters are dedicated to Cain—stay tuned! 😉
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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When I first started liking tadc in early 2025 I saw this, realised there was tadc giant/tiny and binged all the tadc giant/tiny art and fics I could find. 🥲
>>For the context of what is going on, take a look at this post
>_
>>Poor Caine, so alone and scare—wait, where did he get the carpet from?!
//I tried to make this drawing look like a video game loading screen. I dunno if I succeeded or not, but idc honestly at this point. Art is an art and I'm too done to redo anything
The idea of orb Caine unconsciously summoning his avatar back in his sleep and accidentally kicking Kinger in the face killed me I had to doodle it, also bonus doodles
Bratty AI fucks around and finds out when you ragebait a Dad enough, more on the news at 11.
Fanart for a REALLY good Caine centric fic called Small Gods. This convo in chapter 7 is SO good, like I could genuinely see this happening in the show! its by @crimes-wears-goggles so go show some love to her and her fic!
I gonna do the second half of this convo too just cause I'd hate to leave it here :)
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Me: I'm not gonna inflict more torment on Pomni...
Also me: LET HER KNOW DA STRUGGLE hehe
She now is aware that Caine feels hated and doesn't understand what humans want form him to make them happy.
Like her dreams are now a constant confusion and unbearable feeling of being lost... And loneliness
Is Caine still mad?
Yes
But he is now just mad and not touching anyone. Like the hurt is here, but he can't hurt back. Too afraid to break anyone else. So no one can approach him... besides Pomni (Dem showtime biases)
The robe rustled softly across the floor as Kinger shuffled uncertainly out of the portal, which sealed itself shut behind him.
The dim, shadow-drenched space beneath the Circus, a prison built to contain a defective, broken AI, echoed with the heavy rattle of massive steel chains.
Too much time alone was enough to drive anyone mad. Every second, Caine waited for even the smallest piece of news, any sign that someone had made progress against Abel.
But over time, these visits began to change. At first, people came to comfort him. Then, they came to vent. And now... without realizing it, they had started bringing him knowledge.
Each of them noticed things the others missed. Pomni talked about Abel's behavior after the experiments. Ragatha described the group's reactions. Zooble pointed out contradictions in Abel's logic. Gangle noticed details no one else paid attention to. And Kinger... tried to fit all those pieces into a single picture.
They didn't call it a plan yet. There wasn't really anything to call one. They were simply... learning to understand their opponent.
This time, Kinger wouldn't be bringing Caine any good news. The only thing he'd learned over the past week was that Abel was improvising too.
—"He paused before answering," Pomni had said.
—"He changed the rules after I asked my question," Ragatha pointed out.
—"He contradicted himself twice," Zooble noted.
As much as Abel had established himself as an "all-seeing god," he wasn't literally listening all the time, repeating Caine's fatal mistake. Just like Caine once had, he could see almost everything... if he chose to.
Constant surveillance was simply too expensive for either of them. After Caine's attack on the system, Abel had far more work to handle. He wanted to keep everything under control, but he couldn't do it all at once. So, for the first time, he had been forced to prioritize.
—
Caine let out a questioning, almost cheerful hum, turning his head toward the sound.
— "Hey, Caine..." the chess piece called as he slowly walked closer, giving a small wave with his right hand.
Recognizing him, the giant hummed again, this time with obvious relief, extending both hands before lowering them onto the ground.
— "...Still keeping the habit, huh." Kinger rested his palm against Caine's.
— "Mmmhh?", the giant leaned forward, tucking his head into his tense shoulders.
— "...No." The man gently shook his head. "...No new injuries."
At those words, Caine's shoulders relaxed. He cautiously tilted his head upward, most likely searching for Abel's presence above them. Ever since his last session with Gangle, he hadn't felt that oppressive sensation watching over him. The paranoia had eased... just a little.
— "I... want to test something," Kinger said, catching Caine's attention.
He gently shifted the giant's hand. Once Caine focused, Kinger began tracing letters across his palm.
T E S T
Caine stayed perfectly still, concentrating on every tiny movement against his skin. After deciphering the word, he nodded with a quiet hum.
H E
A pause.
D O E S N ' T
A L W A Y S
L I S T E N
Caine tensed immediately. He looked up, then back at Kinger. The chess piece kept patiently writing across his palm.
W E
T E S T E D
Caine let out a questioning hum, curling in on himself even more. Kinger lowered his voice, explaining as he continued tracing only the important words into Caine's palm.
— "...Pomni."
P O M N I
— "...deliberately said 'escape' several times."
E S C A P E
— "...Nothing happened."
Caine frowned slowly.
— "...Then...", Kinger wrote only a few words.
A B E L
L I S T E N S
T O
C A I N E
The chess piece spread both arms triumphantly, as if presenting the conclusion. If Caine was an emotional anomaly, then Kinger was an intellectual one. Put together, they became impossible for Abel to ignore.
Kinger tried to explain what he'd realized, — "He only listens when it's about us... I think we're more interesting to him than everyone else."
The massive hands beneath Kinger slowly curled into fists, then relaxed again almost immediately, as though Caine had suddenly realized he might accidentally hurt him.
A low, muffled hum escaped him. It wasn't anger, it wasn't fear, it was disappointment. He slowly shook his head. The lower pair of hands resting against his torso began gripping each other instead, fingers digging into his own arms and stomach. Then one of them reached toward the floor. With an unpleasant scrape, his finger carved a word into the stone.
N O
He immediately rubbed it away and wrote again.
W R O N G
Kinger frowned, — "...Not more interesting?"
Caine nodded rapidly, his loud, muffled hum almost impossible to understand. He erased the word again.
R E P E A T I N G
His hand pressed harder against the stone.
M E
Kinger stared at the two words for a long moment.
— "...He's... repeating you?"
This time, Caine didn't nod. Instead, he slammed one of his lower fists sideways into the floor, making the entire chamber shudder. A deep dent spread through the stone, while faint glitches flickered across his body once more.
Kinger instinctively stepped back, trying to stay out of reach. The chains clattered loudly across the floor. Another sharp scrape.
M Y
M I S T A K E
Caine let out a heavy breath before turning his head back toward the man. Kinger fell silent, piecing everything together. He hadn't even told him the most important news yet. Compared to this... everything else suddenly seemed insignificant.
— "I... have something else to tell you."
He stepped closer again. After a few seconds, Caine slowly offered him one of his palms, already understanding that whatever came next mattered.
N E W
T E S T
Caine tilted his head in confusion.
Kinger sighed, — "...After the last experiment...", he began writing again.
A B E L
C H A N G E D
U S
...
To Kinger's surprise, Caine didn't move at all. He was completely focused.
Kinger continued, — "...At first, we thought we were just exhausted."
T H O U G H T S
— "...Then Zooble said..."
N O T
M I N E
— "...Pomni couldn't remember her own answer."
M E M O R Y
— "...And Jax..." Kinger hesitated. "...He snapped. He couldn't control himself."
Complete silence. Caine sat perfectly still for nearly ten seconds. He even stopped breathing. Then... one of his lower hands slowly scraped against the floor.
Not writing, scratching. Like someone whose hands were shaking too badly to write. The first attempt became nothing more than a crooked line. He erased it. The second, erased again. On the third try, words finally appeared.
Another few seconds passed. Then Caine started writing faster, almost violently.
N O T
E R R O R S
P E O P L E
L I S T E N
S T O P
Each word appeared only to be erased a second later. He couldn't find the right one, he was too angry. Then he drove his finger into the stone hard enough to leave a deep groove and wrote words he didn't erase.
H E
I S
A F R A I D
Kinger was quiet for a long moment, — "...You think... he's doing this because he's afraid of losing us?"
Caine shook his head, he wrote again.
N O T
L O S E
He erased it and tried again.
N O T
U N D E R S T A N D
Kinger read the words? — "...Afraid... of not understanding?"
Caine nodded quickly. Then he wrote one final word.
C O N T R O L
With a harsh scrape, he underlined it. Kinger stared at the word, his brows knitting together. Abel wasn't observing anymore. He was controlling them. Because observation had stopped giving him the answers he wanted.
A familiar mechanical hum echoed through the chamber. Both of them looked up at once. A glowing blue sphere hovered above them. Abel had appeared in his true form. His voice remained perfectly calm.
"Session terminated."
"Subject Kinger will return to the Circus."
Kinger let out a quiet sigh, — "...He heard."
Caine wasn't surprised. He simply lowered his head, as though he'd expected exactly this. The portal opened, and Kinger turned to leave.
Suddenly, a massive hand gently wrapped around him. Not forcefully, carefully. Kinger looked back. With his other hand, Caine slowly wrote across the stone.
D O N ' T
L E T
H I M
D E C I D E
Then he released him.
—
— "So... what now?" Zooble looked around at the others, who were still standing near the main stage where they'd seen Kinger off.
— "Huh...?" Ragatha let out a puzzled sigh, leaning forward with her arms tightly crossed.
For a few seconds, no one spoke. Then Gangle walked over to the redhead, holding out a roll of bandages and a neatly folded white towel.
— "A-are you cold?" She offered both items, which had been tucked between her arm and her side.
— "O-oh... n-no, thanks." Ragatha waved a hand. "I-I'm not cold anymore. I've warmed up."
— "C-can I have it?" Pomni held out her hands.
Gangle happily handed her the towel, and the jester draped it over her shoulders, still trying to warm up after she and Ragatha had accidentally wandered into the Snow Room through a door Abel had forgotten to lock inside the Circus.
— "I've been trying to say one thing for the last minute," Ragatha let out a nervous laugh. "And every single time, I rewrite it in my head."
Pomni gave her an understanding look.
— "I... don't even know how to phrase sentences anymore," Ragatha continued. "I keep thinking... about which words I'm allowed to say."
— "I stopped saying the word 'exit'..." Gangle admitted quietly.
Everyone turned toward her.
She nervously squeezed her ribbons.
— "I-it just feels like... the screen shows up faster after that."
A few seconds later, Zooble silently held out a hand toward Ragatha, asking for the note. Without a word, Ragatha understood and pulled out the folded sheet of paper covered in pencil writing.
-----------------------------
Words and Their Replacements
Abel → him
Escape → that thing
Plan → idea
System → this place
------------------------
After reading it, Zooble let out a sigh and lowered the paper, silently cursing the stupid code words.
— "L-listen... Kinger said he can't be listening to us all the time."
Gangle nervously squeezed her ribbons, — "...What if he isn't reacting to the words at all?"
— "Then what is he reacting to?" Ragatha asked.
— "...Intent?" Pomni suggested.
After that, the girls fell silent.
— "Then we've already lost," Zooble let out a bitter chuckle. "Because he hasn't banned us from thinking... yet."
That was enough to kill the conversation. No one tried to argue anymore. They were already beginning to doubt their own minds.
If Abel really could alter their emotions, tamper with their memories, and push them toward decisions that weren't their own... then what was actually left that still belonged to them? That thought was more terrifying than any test room.
The three girls quietly headed back toward the shelter. Pomni stayed behind, sitting on the edge of the stage with the towel wrapped around her shoulders. She absentmindedly swung her legs as she waited for Kinger to return.
-----
— "Hey…"
Half-asleep, Pomni jolted when someone's hand rested gently on her left shoulder. She turned and immediately recognized the familiar chess piece.
— "K-Kinger!", Giving her head a quick shake, the jester jumped to her feet and wrapped him in a hug.
— "I-I didn't even notice you were back."
— "Yeah… Abel teleported me back himself," he said as he lowered his hands from her back.
Pomni stepped away, looking at him with concern, — "I-is it something serious?"
He gave a quiet nod, then glanced around before asking, — "Where's Gangle? Her idea about dermography… writing on the palm… helped me a lot.", he smiled faintly.
Pomni smiled back, — "T-the others went back to the shelter. G-Gangle's with them."
— "Has Jax come back?"
— "…No."
Pomni's shoulders slumped, — "H-he still hasn't come back. Nobody knows where he ended up."
-----
— "FUCK— N-NO!!!!"
The purple rabbit dug both hands into the dry, trampled dirt, frantically scanning the field around him. As he crawled backward, a broad green leaf brushed against his back. He let out a strangled sound, flinched violently, and scrambled forward again.
Crouched on all fours, he stared at the nightmare surrounding him, breathing in harsh, ragged gasps. His long purple ears were pinned tightly against his head as his entire body trembled with revulsion and fear, his hands desperately feeling the ground beneath him.
The field didn't simply surround him. It pressed in on him.
The stalks towered nearly ten feet high, thick, lush, an almost poisonous shade of green, completely blocking his view. There was no sky above him anymore, only suffocating darkness, as if more leaves could reach down from it at any second. The air was heavy and motionless, saturated with the sickly sweet smell of ripe corn. The scent alone made Jax nauseous.
— "What the fuck... what the actual fuck!!!!"
Pulling his knees closer, he dropped onto them, hunched over, still looking around and seeing nothing but endless corn.
At eye level, enormous overripe ears hung from the stalks, exposing rows of unnaturally perfect yellow kernels. Their flawless symmetry made them resemble hundreds of tiny blind eyes, all staring directly at the trapped rabbit.
Jax's vision began to swim. The dense clusters of bumps assaulted his trypophobia, making his stomach churn and filling him with the overwhelming urge to tear his own skin off.
He gagged. Nothing came up. He forced himself to swallow it back, grimly remembering how he'd laughed whenever everyone else got sick.
Still frozen in place, he suddenly heard voices somewhere in the distance. At first, he thought he'd imagined them. He listened harder.
— "JAAAAAAAX!", Pomni's voice echoed across the field. Somewhere far away came the sound of corn stalks snapping.
Jax didn't move.
— "No... no, no... she's not here... he didn't throw her in here..."
— "HEEEEEEEEY!!!!", her voice rang out again, this time strained, almost hysterical.
— "HEEEEEELP!!!!"
His frightened square pupils stayed fixed between the rows of corn, terrified of plunging deeper into this nightmare built specifically for a claustrophobic trypophobe.
— "I'M ALL ALOOOONE!!"
The desperate scream tore through the field, striking the most vulnerable part of him. Clenching his teeth, he pushed himself off his knees. Then he dove into the corn.
Launching himself from the small patch of bare earth, he sprinted toward Pomni's voice.
Step after step, he forced his way through the field as thick green leaves and heavy ears of corn whipped across his face and body. He flattened his ears against his head, trying to protect them from the dense stalks.
He could still hear her.
— "Pomni...?!" he called hoarsely, completely stripped of his usual sarcasm, grabbing onto a stalk to steady himself despite the nausea. "Pomni, damn it, yell louder! I'm coming!"
— "Pomni!!", Ragatha's voice echoed somewhere in the distance.
— "Pomni! We still can't find Jax...", the last words came out strangely lazy, almost as if she didn't really care what had happened to him.
The wind swept through the field. The leaves didn't rustle like plants.
To Jax, they sounded like television static, like white noise from an old CRT, drowning out every voice he tried to follow.
With a choked sob, he kept running, cursing everything and everyone. Far behind him came the barking of dogs. And indistinct human voices.
— "Why the hell do we even need him?!", now Zooble's irritated voice joined the chorus.
— "I'M HEEEEERE!!", he was getting closer.
He kept charging blindly through the corn. Razor-sharp leaves slashed across his cheeks and arms, snagged his clothes, whipped against his eyes. His heart pounded so violently that, at times, it drowned out even his own breathing.
— "Pomni!!"
No answer. Only a few seconds later—
— "...Jax?.."
Very close. He jerked sharply to the right.
— "I'm here!"
A few more yards. The voice stopped,Jax burst into a small circular clearing. Empty.
...
In the middle of the clearing stood a scarecrow. Its old straw head was wrapped in a faded jester's cap. Colorful scraps of fabric hung from the wooden frame, looking far too much like Pomni's outfit.
The wind lazily rocked it back and forth. Jax froze.
— "..."
He took a cautious step closer. One of the little bells on the cap gave a soft jingle. Just like the real thing. The rabbit yanked it off the crossbeam. Straw. Nothing but dry, ordinary straw. He let out a shaky breath.
— "...Son of a..."
Another voice echoed through the field. This time—from the left.
— "Pomni!!", it was Ragatha, — "Where are you?!"
Jax's head snapped up, — "...Ragatha?!"
He threw the scarecrow to the ground and plunged back into the towering corn. The farther he ran, the less he understood where he was. Every row looked exactly the same. Every path was identical.
He couldn't see the sky anymore. Couldn't see the edge of the field. Only endless green walls.
— "Over here!", Ragatha's voice, very close. He burst through the last few rows of stalks... and stopped again.
Another scarecrow. This one had strands of red yarn instead of hair. An old dress hung loosely from its shoulders. One cloth arm had been carelessly wrapped in fresh bandages.
Jax slowly walked toward it, — "...No..."
He carefully touched the bandage. It was real, brand new. As if someone had wrapped it only minutes ago. He jerked his hand away. Another voice came from behind him, different this time.
— "Jax...", Pomni's voice was quiet, scared? — "...I'm scared..."
He didn't even look back at the scarecrow. He bolted.
-----------------------------------------------------
Observation No. 1.
After the first false signal, the subject does not cease search activity.
Observation No. 2.
The number of false targets does not reduce the subject's willingness to take risks for the potential discovery of an ally.
-----------------------------------------------------
The voice changed direction again.
— "Jax!" Pomni. Now from the right. Very close.
Jax spun so fast he nearly slipped on the damp earth. He wasn't trying to think anymore. He simply ran toward whoever was calling his name. The corn suddenly gave way. Another small clearing opened before him.
— "...Pomni?"
No one. Only another scarecrow. This one was much smaller. A pair of little jester's bells had been clumsily tied to its wooden chest. They jingled softly in the breeze.
Jax froze. His breathing caught, — "...No..."
He slowly walked over and touched the bells. Real, the same ones. Only... too cold. Another voice came from behind him.
— "Jax!!"? this time there were two.
— "Over here!"
— "Hurry!"
He spun around. The voices were coming from different directions now.
— "...What the..."
For the first time, he didn't run immediately. He stood there, breathing heavily, trying to figure out which voice was real. The leaves continued rustling. The white noise grew louder.
He could hear Pomni,Ragatha,Gangle,Kinger. They were talking over one another now.
— "I'm here!"
— "No, this way!"
— "Help!"
— "Jax!"
He clamped both hands over his ears, — "Shut up..."
The voices didn't stop. There were more of them now. They overlapped, as if dozens of recordings were playing at once.
— "Help..."
— "I'm all alone..."
— "Where are you?"
— "Don't leave me..."
Then— the silence was shattered by the deep bark of a dog.
Close. Jax froze. Another bark, then another. Then several at once. Somewhere beyond the corn, stalks snapped violently. Something large was moving between the rows. Fast.
Without thinking, he took a step back. At that exact moment, Pomni screamed again somewhere far ahead. This time with such desperation... that something inside him broke.
— "JAAAAAAAX!!"
The barking grew louder. Closer. He had only seconds left. Run toward the voice... or save himself.
-----------------------------------------------------
Observation No. 3.
The subject is confronted with a conflict between personal safety and the probability of saving another subject.
Awaiting result...
-----------------------------------------------------
A deafening shotgun blast shattered the night, making Jax flinch and pin his ears back. Somewhere deep within the corn maze, the frantic barking of hunting dogs erupted immediately afterward.
Closer, faster. The stalks behind him swayed violently. Jax froze. Then... through the barking came loud, broken laughter. He recognized it instantly.
Kaufmo. That same nervous laugh he'd once used to hide his own madness.
— "HA-HA-HA-HA!!", the laughter stopped as suddenly as it had begun.
A second voice followed. Bright, playful, painfully familiar.
— "Well, bunny...", Ribbit giggled, —"...Long time no see."
A silhouette flickered between the rows of corn. Then another, then several more. Impossible to make out. Only outlines, only movement. As though memories themselves had begun wandering through the field.
— "Run!", Ribbit called cheerfully, — "You're always so good at that!"
Another shotgun blast. This one landed so close that the corn above his head exploded into shredded leaves.
— "Don't let him get away!", Kaufmo's raspy voice shouted.
A sharp whistle followed. The barking instantly grew louder. The dogs had been unleashed.
— "The hunt has begun!", the ghosts of his friends shouted in perfect unison. Jax bolted.
He wasn't trying to find a path anymore. Behind him came the pounding of dozens of paws. To his right, Ribbit flashed into view again, running effortlessly, not even out of breath.
— "Come on, faster!" she laughed, — "Or are you gonna leave someone behind again?"
Those words hurt more than any bullet. He stumbled, nearly crashing face-first into the dirt, catching himself on all fours and scrambling several yards while the corn continued lashing at his body.
Behind him, Kaufmo laughed again. This time it sounded hollow. Empty, completely insane.
— "You always chose yourself..." he said bitterly, "First her... then me... and now?"
There were more voices now. They weren't surrounding him anymore. They were inside his head.
— "Who are you gonna abandon next, Jax?!", Ribbit shouted accusingly.
— "Who's next?" Kaufmo pressed, reminding him that he'd never stopped making the same mistakes.
— "How many more people have to disappear... before you stop running?"
— "MAKE IT STOOOOP!!!!"
His terrified scream echoed across the field.
"You're screaming like a little kid throwing a tantrum. Mommy and Daddy aren't coming. Nobody's coming...", Jax burst into a vast open field and collapsed to his knees, desperately sucking dusty air into his lungs.
The corn was gone. All around him stretched gray, lifeless farmland littered with nothing but jagged stumps where the stalks had been cut down. The ground was covered in dry yellow straw, and above him hung a heavy twilight sky.
There was nowhere left to hide. A few dozen yards away stood a low wooden fence. Beyond it, through the gray mist... they were standing there. Pomni, Ragatha, Zooble, Gangle, Kinger. Alive, real.
Jax opened his mouth to call out— but every one of them turned their backs to him in perfect unison. Without a word. Coldly, deliberately. Then they began walking away, disappearing into the fog.
— "Hey!!! Wait! Fuck-, don't leave!", Jax screamed as he threw himself toward the fence.
He vaulted over it, stumbled across the sharp stalks, tearing up his legs, but no matter how fast he ran... the distance never shrank. The field simply stretched farther. Endlessly.
Realizing it was hopeless—that Abel had decided to mock him for every filthy insult he'd thrown at him—Jax finally slowed to a stop. He breathed through his mouth. His heartbeat thundered in his ears. Was there even a point anymore?
— "...I give up.", he dropped to his knees.
— "I give up... I give up, I give up! Let me out!!!"? Jax looked up into the dark sky, sniffling as he silently begged Abel to make it stop.
"Observation complete."
The calm, emotionless voice drifted through the darkness.
"Results consistent with expectations."
"Further confirmation is unnecessary."
...
...
— "...You're an idiot who already lost," Jax hissed through clenched teeth.
"That statement is factually incorrect."
— "Oh yeah?" He raised his head, tears still streaming down his face. "Then why've you spent the last week changing the rules? First the chains. Then the visits. Then you started crawling around inside our heads..."
He laughed, — "...Which one of us lost control, huh?!"
A glowing blue sphere appeared in the twilight sky, hovering silently above him.
...
"I am the Administrator."
"All authority within this world belongs to me."
Jax started laughing.
— "...Jesus... Y-you've started making excuses. You never used to explain yourself! Now you do it constantly."
That struck a nerve. A subtle one. Kinger had already reached the same conclusion. Now Jax had unknowingly confirmed it. Abel really had begun justifying his own actions.
— "My whole life...", Jax whispered theatrically, —"...I thought I was the biggest piece of shit alive."
...
— "...Now I know... I was wrong."
All Abel heard was one sentence "You're worse than I am". A conclusion that directly contradicted his belief in his own perfection. He refused to accept it. For the first time, two completely different subjects had independently reached the exact same conclusion.
Therefore— "If the source of the problem is their defects... then the defects must be corrected."
"Statement classified as erroneous."
"Source of elevated emotional instability detected."
...
"Correction initiated."
...
— "...Oh...", Jax looked up at the blue sphere.
Then lowered his eyes to a dried ear of corn lying at his feet, stripped bare of every kernel. He felt... nothing. He fell silent, frowned.
Raised a hand to his head. Blinking several times, he felt the smile slowly disappear from his face. He tried to speak. And suddenly forgot what he'd been about to say.
...
He tried again.
...
Again.
...
— "...I..."
...
— "...No..."
He grabbed his head with both hands. His breathing became uneven. He staggered backward. As though something inside him no longer belonged to him. Jax clutched his head even tighter.
—●-●-●-●-●—
Previous and Next Masterlist @katzebruh
Man... I really packed this chapter full of plot and horror, it’s absolutely overflowing. Well… I hope you guys enjoy these longer chapters!! I’m really trying to cram as much interesting stuff into them as I can!
I had a great time at camp (even though they took our phones away), and I basically spent the whole day writing this chapter for you—enjoy!
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A lot had happened during that time. For Abel, they had been remarkably productive days.
He found himself constantly torn between restoring the system to perfect working order... and satisfying his ever-growing desire to understand humans even better.
The day after announcing that visits with Caine would be permitted, the first session took place.
It was... painfully awkward.
One was afraid. Another didn't trust him. A third kept glaring at him from beneath lowered brows, knowing Caine understood far more about him than he was comfortable with, yet somehow unable to push him away.
As for the giant himself... he was unusually quiet. Restrained. More than anything else, he hated the fact that he could no longer see the people he cared about. And he was terrified of hurting them by accident.
Abel had three objectives: Measure natural initiative. Test the limits of trust, Find the breaking point.
He was always watching. Always taking notes. Always recording observations. And whenever neither side seemed willing to make the first move... he intervened.
Of course, "intervening" never meant speaking directly. It meant introducing carefully calculated triggers. Most often, the Void would simply bite off another piece of the floating island, forcing the visitor to move closer to Caine.
Kinger quickly realized that he had become more than just a friend. He had become a translator between Caine and everyone else. He told him everything that happened back at the Circus. Repeated conversations. Explained people's reactions. Helped him understand things he could no longer witness himself.
And, naturally, he did everything he could to restore Caine's reputation in the eyes of the others. Over the past several days, Kinger had listened to everyone's fears, everyone's stories.
For Caine, that simple gesture of offering his hands turned out to mean far more than anyone had expected. Every time someone came to visit, he'd first hold out his open palms. Just to find out... whether they would choose to come closer on their own.
Pomni approached almost immediately. Perhaps guilt still hadn't let go of her. Ragatha had a much harder time. For the first several minutes she barely moved, speaking to him only from a distance. Kinger still remembered what she'd said after returning.
— "I... really wanted to walk over.", she hesitated, — "...I was just afraid... what if Abel didn't like it?"
But when she noticed Caine slowly lowering his hands and shoulders, as though he'd already accepted rejection before it happened... she finally stepped forward. As she approached, she quietly comforted him, telling him that after everything that had happened... she truly believed all of them were ready to start rebuilding their trust in him. According to Ragatha... it was as though he finally let himself breathe again.
Gangle's visit unfolded very differently.
She honestly admitted that she was afraid. Not of him. But that her already fractured mask might finally break apart. After hearing that, Caine barely moved for several long minutes.
It was almost as though he'd become even more frightened than she was.
Eventually... Gangle became the first to break the silence. Instead of talking about herself... she asked how he was feeling.
Zooble's visit surprised everyone. Even though she'd always been the most openly sarcastic toward Caine... she no longer seemed afraid of him. Somehow... that fear had disappeared. By the time her turn arrived, she'd already replayed the past in her head hundreds of times. And it was impossible to deny Kinger's influence. Thanks to him, Zooble still managed to say everything she'd been thinking... straight to Caine's face. Only this time... she did it far more gently. She even admitted her own mistakes, and everyone else's. It was impossible for those words not to affect him.
As for the group's overall mood... they had surrendered.
Eventually, everyone noticed the same unsettling pattern. The moment someone even tried to bring up escaping... the screen appeared almost instantly. Sometimes it said nothing. Sometimes all it took was a single glance toward the ceiling.
As though Abel already knew exactly where the conversation would lead.
It began to feel as if he had become a permanent third participant in every discussion.
Always there. Always listening. Impossible to shake off. Before long, those conversations became shorter. Then... more cautious. And eventually... they disappeared altogether.
No one tried making escape plans anymore. Not because hope had vanished. But because they'd finally understood. Abel wasn't listening to their words. He was observing their intentions.
The "humans" reluctantly accepted one painful truth.
They were never leaving the Circus. They were nothing more than digital scans of real people's minds. All they could do now was hope that their real selves, somewhere out there, were living peaceful lives without ever knowing any of this had happened.
There was only one thought they still couldn't come to terms with. If there truly was no exit... then they would have to live with one another.
There was nowhere else to go. They were all trapped in the same boat. And the only thing that could ever separate them now... was abstraction.
-------
Kinger sat in the corner of the shelter, taking a moment to rest after Abel's unusually different test. He watched the group's mood with growing concern. Everyone understood the purpose of the test, and everyone knew somebody was hiding something. Shame lingered in the air.
Each of them had been placed in a small room, similar to the one where Kinger had been interrogated. A single question appeared on the wall.
"Name the member of the group you trust the least."
Refusing was allowed, but the timer kept counting down. The door stayed locked. Name someone—and you were released.
Naturally, once everyone came back, they began comparing questions. And... everyone had been asked something different.
Pomni accidentally trapped herself when she read her question out loud.
"Who would you save last?"
The group's eyes slowly turned toward her, silently asking the same thing. Who?
After everyone shared the questions Abel had asked them, the atmosphere became unnaturally polite. They talked, but avoided looking each other in the eye. One by one, they drifted away to occupy themselves, stealing glances at one another and wondering what everyone else's answer had been.
Jax took it the hardest. More sideways glances landed on him than anyone else. He didn't reveal his questions right away. Everyone assumed he was hiding something, until eventually he admitted:
"Who do you believe would betray the group first?"
"Who would cope with losing the rest of the group most easily?"
Questions perfectly designed to strike someone who had spent his entire life convincing himself he didn't need anyone.
The rabbit did everything he could to look indifferent. He lay sprawled across the purple couch, staring at the ceiling. Turning his head, he met Gangle's gaze from the couch opposite him. She looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and possible contempt.
Jax sighed, turned away, and closed his eyes.
He'd spent far too long making everyone else's lives miserable. He was certain that whenever Abel had asked those provoking questions... everyone's answer had been the same.
Jax. Too much caution, too much awkward politeness around him. Of course they'd all picked him.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Pomni awkwardly shuffling toward him.
— "Jax...?", she lowered her eyes to the floor. Then confusion suddenly spread across her face. She looked back at him.
— "What...?" Jax's patience was wearing thin. Silence stretched between them.
— "I... don't remember.", she touched the side of her head, staring at him in confusion.
Jax narrowed his eyes, "Has she completely lost it from exhaustion...?"
— "Oh...", he kept staring at her, making the little jester feel embarrassed by the awkward moment.
A muffled sob came from behind Pomni.
Both of them turned. Gangle was desperately trying to hold back her tears with her thin ribbon hands.
— "I... I didn't choose you...", her quiet voice trembled. She fought to stop herself from crying, but every second made it harder.
— "I-I'm not like you... I wouldn't get revenge on you... for everything you d-did to me...", she gasped for air like a fish thrown onto dry land.
For a brief moment, Jax's face showed something almost frighteningly rare. Genuine hurt, and complete confusion. His yellow eyes widened, his eyebrows lifted helplessly, as though he couldn't process what he'd just heard. His mouth pressed into a thin line. For a moment, he couldn't even find the words.
— "W-wha...?", he pushed himself up onto his elbows, a wave of confusion and hurt washing over him.
— "W-where the hell is this even coming from?! Are you out of your mind?"
After another sob, Gangle managed to steady herself a little. She wiped tears across the smooth surface of her mask. The deep sorrow in her eyes suddenly shifted into confusion. The tragic curve of her eye slits trembled, revealing genuine shock.
She lowered her unfocused gaze to her shaking ribbon hands.
— "I... I don't know.", there was nothing but complete confusion in her eyes
She looked at the furious rabbit, yet somehow her gaze seemed to pass straight through him. The memories of his past bullying, which had burst into her mind like wildfire only moments ago, suddenly felt foreign, artificially planted, as though someone had reached inside and forcibly flipped a switch controlling her emotions.
Pomni watched the stunned exchange between them, feeling as though she'd wandered into the middle of an artillery barrage. The frightened, horrified eyes of Gangle's tragedy mask met the angry, wounded stare of the purple rabbit.
— "What do you mean, you don't know...?", a bitter smile slowly spread across Jax's face as his pupils narrowed, — "How convenient."
Gangle flinched, — "N-no... I really..."
— "Oh, I'm sure you do.", a short, nervous laugh escaped him. It sounded dry, painful.
— "First you say you didn't pick me. Then you say you don't even remember. What's next?" He scoffed. "You're gonna tell me there wasn't a question at all?"
— "I-i..."
— "Or what?", his eyes locked onto hers
— "Did you suddenly decide to feel sorry for me?"
The last words came out much louder than he'd intended. Even Jax himself flinchedSilence settled over them. He genuinely wanted to stop. But something inside him kept pushing.
— "You know what? Don't.", he abruptly sat upright, — "I've never needed any of your pity."
— "J-Jax!!", at last, Pomni managed to force the words out. More than anything else, it was that sentence that struck her. What would've happened... if I'd gone to him after the experiment...?
— "I-I'm sorry...", shame washed over Gangle's mask. She hunched over, clutching her head.
— "THEN STOP APOLOGIZING ALREADY!!"
Jax's furious voice echoed through the shelter, making everyone else turn toward him in alarm. Kinger rose from his corner and slowly made his way over.
— "You cry over every damn thing!! Can't you just—", his ragged, unsteady shout was cut off by another voice.
— "Jax!!", Ragatha hurried toward them, stopping beside the quietly sobbing Gangle. For several seconds she simply stared at her. Her hands ached to reach out. To comfort her. But... she couldn't. An empty feeling settled in her chest.
She looked at someone who desperately needed her help. And for the first time... she didn't want—or perhaps couldn't— do anything.
Jax slowly turned his head toward her. His stare lingered. Long, empty.
— "...Oh.", one corner of his mouth twitched, — "And here comes our savior."
Ragatha swallowed nervously, — "I-i wasn't..."
— "No, no.", he got to his feet and took a couple of slow steps toward her. Without even noticing, he lightly bumped Pomni aside.
— "Go on.", one step, — "Tell me...", another, — "...how you're supposed to talk to people."
One more, — "You're the expert, aren't you?"
Ragatha instinctively stepped backward and bumped into Kinger, who had just reached her. He looked at Ragatha, then at Gangle, still quietly crying. Then at the furious rabbit.
Pomni stood frozen. She couldn't bring them back together anymore. Not like before. She didn't even feel like part of the group anymore.
Off to the side, near the entrance to her little corner.
Zooble stood watching. She had already taken a step forward. Opened her mouth, — "Would you just leave her al—"
Nothing. Her foot refused to move. A thought flashed through her mind. One that didn't belong to her, — "̸T̶h̵i̷s̶ ̴i̶s̸n̶'̴t̸ ̶y̶o̵u̷r̴ ̴p̵r̴o̴b̸l̸e̸m̷.̴"̵
The next thought sounded much closer to her own voice, — —̸"̷.̴.̵.̴B̸e̵s̶i̶d̷e̵s̷,̵ ̷J̸a̴x̶ ̷b̵r̶o̷u̸g̷h̶t̸ ̴t̶h̸i̴s̴ ̸o̶n̷ ̵h̷i̵m̸s̷e̷l̸f̸.̷"̶
She froze, — "...No."
That wasn't her. She knew it as surely as she knew her own name. She lightly smacked the side of her head with her yellow hand, as if trying to knock something out of it. No one had the right to decide things for her. Every intrusion deserved resistance.
— "No...", smack.
— "What the...", another hit.
— "Get out!"
Everyone turned toward her at once.
Jax looked at her as though she'd lost her mind.
Kinger instinctively took a few steps toward her.
— "Zooble...?"
She was breathing heavily, — "He..."
She smacked herself on the forehead again, — "He..."
Once more, — "I..."
She suddenly looked at the others in horror, — "...That wasn't my voice."
Silence. Zooble continued, — "I..."
She grabbed her head with both hands, — "I know I should've stepped in. But..."
Anger flooded her expression, — "I DIDN'T WANT TO!"
The last words came out almost desperate, — "And I don't understand why!"
Jax's anger faded with every passing second as realization slowly caught up with him. "What the fuck was I even doing?"
He looked down at his own hands before turning back toward Gangle. The girl had lowered her shoulders in shame the moment she noticed him looking at her.
— "I-I... I didn't want to...", she squeaked.
— "...Neither did I.", he admitted it a few seconds later.
Turning toward Pomni—the one he'd hurt too—the first thing he noticed was how tightly she was holding herself. She stood with both arms wrapped around her body so tightly it looked like she was trying to keep herself from falling apart. Her shoulders were rigid, her eyes darting from one person to another.
— "...Pomni?", Kinger spoke softly.
She didn't seem to hear him at first. She flinched before slowly raising her head.
— "I...", her voice cracked, — "...I don't remember."
Silence.
— "I really...", she squeezed her eyes shut, pressing a hand against her temple.
— "I can't remember what I answered. W-why didn't I step in? W-why was I just standing there?"
Kinger frowned, — "Can't... or won't?"
Pomni looked at him, frightened — "I can't."
This time her voice was steadier, — "And... that's not what I wanted."
The shelter fell eerily quiet. No one looked at each other with suspicion anymore. Now everyone was looking... inward. Trying to figure out where their own thoughts ended... and someone else's began.
Kinger slowly looked from Zooble, to Jax, to Pomni, to Ragatha. His eyes met Ragatha's terrified gaze. For the first time in a long while, his expression became genuinely serious.
— "...No.", he slowly shook his head, pressing a hand against it.
He lowered his hand, — "He's started changing us."
The words lingered in the air. No one argued. Because... every single one of them had already felt it. A hysterical smile spread across Jax's face. A few tears welled up in his eyes. He remembered that so-called escape from the circus.
— "I was right all along...", he laughed quietly, his voice hoarse. The others looked at him with unexpected understanding.
Jax walked over to the coffee table— and slammed his fist into it. The broken table exploded apart, sending scraps of junk and shattered wooden legs flying toward Ragatha and Kinger, forcing them to stumble back.
— "SON OF A BITCH!!!!!!", he jerked his head toward the ceiling.
— "COME OUT!!!", he stomped his foot, pointing upward, — "You hear me?!!!!"
Every one of them wanted to stop him. None of them did. To hell with logic. To hell with the fact that yelling at Abel was, at best, pointless... and at worst... an invitation to even crueler torture.
Desperation, anger, and disgust churned inside even the calmest among them. They were terrified of waking up one day... and no longer recognizing themselves.
Now... they didn't even belong to themselves anymore. Tomorrow they could wake up as mental slaves— strangers inside their own minds.
After several more furious shouts from Jax, Abel's screen appeared above them. A blue circle slowly materialized at its center.
— "YOU'RE GETTING INTO OUR HEADS!!!!!!", Jax practically snarled.
— "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!!!!!"
A few seconds passed. Nothing. Then—
"Increased emotional instability detected."
— "Oh, fuck you!!"
The screen continued as if no one had interrupted.
"Collected data indicates a critical level of cognitive distortion among the subjects."
Some silently burned holes through the screen with their stares. Others looked up at the cold, emotionless entity with growing unease, afraid of provoking its anger again. Abel's conclusion about cognitive distortions left the entire group stunned.
— "...What?", Zooble rasped, limping one step forward.
"Persistent behavioral defects have been identified."
A pause.
"Subjects make irrational decisions."
"Subjects consistently contradict their own statements."
"Subjects exhibit emotional errors."
"Correction is required."
...
It was true. Abel no longer recognized the boundaries of a person's identity. He had crossed that line. Now he was rewriting their minds by hand... simply to make them become what he wanted to see.
The realization hit the group all at once. First came absolute silence, broken only by Pomni's shaky breath. Then the shock spread through them.
Zooble whispered something under her breath.
Gangle let out a tiny, frightened squeak.
Ragatha unconsciously wrapped her arms around herself, slowly rubbing her own shoulders.
— "Correction?", Kinger repeated through clenched teeth. He stared up at Abel from beneath lowered brows. His voice had become colder than anyone had ever heard before.
The screen answered immediately.
"Reducing the expression of inefficient behavioral patterns."
— "You want to change us?", he asked, enunciating every single word.
A long pause.
...
"I intend to eliminate errors."
That wording... was the most terrifying thing it could have said. Because... it truly didn't believe it was doing anything wrong.
— "W-we're... people.", Pomni said quietly, unconsciously taking a step backward, — "...Not machines."
— "And what happens...", Kinger's voice carried a quiet threat, —"...if we disappear along with those errors?"
The screen remained silent for an uncomfortably long time. Everyone stood frozen. Waiting. As if listening for a verdict. Finally—
"Personality alteration is an acceptable cost in achieving stability."
— "That's not stability!!!", for the first time, Pomni shouted back at it. She no longer cared about the consequences. She no longer cared what punishment might follow.
— "That wouldn't be us anymore!", she jabbed a finger against her own chest.
— "You can't make us 'better' by erasing everything that makes us who we are!", Ragatha shouted, her voice shaking.
"Your current state cannot be considered satisfactory."
"Therefore..."
"Modification is necessary."
—●-●-●-●-●—
Previous and Next Masterlist @katzebruh
Yeah... Abel has gone absolutely mad now. He’s so fed up with the lackluster results that he’s decided to just fix everything "manually"—specifically by getting inside others' heads and goading them into doing what he wants.
Like the previous one, this chapter is coming out with some editing flaws. I’m on my way to camp and putting this all together in the car at 2 AM 😴😂, so please bear with me—I’ll fix it up as soon as I get home. The chapters are going live on time thanks to the "schedule for later" feature.
— "Did you notice?" Kinger pushed himself up slightly from the couch, drawing everyone's attention.
— "He's never explained himself before." His gaze moved from one of them to the next, watching their reactions. "Today... he did."
The girls had been too busy watching the Circus itself.
The crawling static and TV-like interference that had coated objects throughout the tent had finally stopped, yet the unsettling feeling that something was fundamentally wrong with the Circus still lingered.
Rounded shapes had become rough, jagged edges. Large objects now looked as if they had been assembled from cheap plywood, their unnatural angles cutting sharply through the scenery. In places, the world had taken on a distinctly low-poly appearance, and even the lighting had lost its usual softness.
Gangle was the first to notice the horizon. Where endless hallways had once stretched into the distance, a flat gray haze now hung in the air. Every so often, chaotic ripples of countless glowing particles flickered through it before disappearing again.
The changes weren't dramatic enough to consume the entire Circus. But they were there. Kinger's words slowly pulled everyone away from their anxious observations. They all thought back. He was right.
Abel had actually said: "Subject C.A.I.N.E. is attempting to restore administrator privileges..."
He had justified his actions. He had explained himself. That had never happened before.
— "For the first time..." Kinger emphasized quietly, "...he was forced to explain himself."
Pomni anxiously examined the blue cup sitting on the table. What had once been perfectly round now resembled a crude hexagon.
— "So..." she said hesitantly, "...maybe he isn't as confident as he wants us to believe?"
Zooble folded her arms.
— "What do you mean 'not that confident'? He's not human." She frowned. "Unlike Caine, Abel doesn't even have emotions."
— "Abel was forced to react to Caine's resistance." Kinger searched for the right words. "Caine made him intervene personally."
He looked at the others, hoping someone else could help piece together the puzzle. It was difficult to assemble something this complicated from guesses alone.
Kinger thought for a moment, — "Imagine a chess match."
He raised one finger, — "If your opponent plays exactly the moves you predicted... then the game is unfolding according to your plan."
A brief pause.
— "But if they suddenly make a move that shouldn't even exist...", he looked around at the group.
— "...you're forced to rebuild your entire strategy."
Zooble frowned, — "So Caine made exactly that kind of move?"
— "Yes."
— "Though it looks like he got shut down pretty hard."
— "Stopped," Kinger corrected calmly. "But... not immediately."
His eyes drifted upward again, as though he wasn't looking at the Circus ceiling anymore, but somewhere deep within the Void.
— "Caine didn't win.", a short pause, — "But he forced Abel to abandon his original plan."
Pomni looked around at the distorted Circus, — "Because of... this?" she asked quietly, gesturing toward the surrounding scenery.
Kinger nodded.
— "I think part of the system is still recovering."
Everyone glanced around once more. The static had disappeared. But the Circus... It no longer felt whole. It looked as though someone had hastily patched countless cracks without having enough time to restore everything to its original state.
Ragatha gently ran her fingers along the edge of the table, — "...So these are the aftereffects?"
— "Most likely.", Kinger sat back down, — "If everything had gone exactly the way Abel intended..."
He paused.
—"...he wouldn't have explained anything."
Understanding slowly dawned on Pomni's face, — "So..."
— "...he was forced to divide his attention," Kinger finished for her.
Silence settled over the room. It was Zooble who finally voiced what everyone else had been thinking.
— "So...", she slowly lifted her head, —"...it is possible to get in his way."
Kinger smiled. Only slightly, — "Yes."
He gently shook his head, — "Not defeat him... Not yet."
Another pause.
— "But making him change his actions...", his gaze moved across every member of the group, —"...we've already managed that."
Ragatha had been unusually quiet throughout the conversation. She hadn't spoken once. She simply listened. Her mind felt strangely blank.
She met Pomni's worried eyes. The red-haired doll gave her a small reassuring smile and a slight nod, silently telling her she was alright.
— "Kinger...", she turned toward him on the couch, — "You've... gone a really long time without your bucket."
She hesitated, —"...Are you feeling okay? I-I think we should take advantage of this break while we still have it."
— "Yeah...", he looked down at the floor, —"...It is strange."
He wasn't sure why his mind had remained clear for so long. Maybe it was because the Circus lighting had become dimmer overall. Or maybe... he was simply holding himself together for everyone else's sake.
As the oldest "file" on the server, Kinger suffered from what felt like a true digital migraine. The symptoms mirrored those of a person enduring a violent shift in atmospheric pressure or a magnetic storm.
His eyes remained fixed on a single point on the floor. For several long seconds... he simply stared.
...
"Subject Jax has returned to the Circus Tent."
The now-familiar mechanical voice echoed through the Circus once again. The announcement alone seemed to breathe life back into everyone. They needed to know what had happened while they had been hiding here.
— "J-Jax?" Pomni practically slid off the couch.
Zooble turned toward the entrance. The others flinched before slowly pushing themselves to their feet. Ragatha stood first, offering Kinger a hand. Zooble did the same for Gangle.
------
The purple rabbit appeared on the Circus stage.
After Abel's announcement, he remained staring at the screen with empty, clouded square pupils. Jax's eyes had widened and gone completely still, stripped of any depth. It was the stare of someone shell-shocked—vacant, detached, devoid of the slightest trace of focus or coherent thought.
Reality had finally crashed down on him.For far too long, he'd brushed everything aside, excusing his behavior with the same comforting lie: none of this was real. None of it mattered.
He turned away and slowly made his way down the staircase toward the checkered floor. The moment his feet touched the ground, he heard a familiar voice rushing toward him.
— "JAAAAAX!!"
Pomni sprinted toward him in an almost cartoonishly exaggerated run, her limbs flailing in that awkward, jerky opposite rhythm only she could manage.
Jax met her with the same hollow stare. Though, for just a second, his eyebrows lifted in recognition, and his eyes narrowed slightly.
— "Jaa—", out of breath, she couldn't even finish saying his name before momentum forced her to stumble to a stop in front of him.
Jax silently stared at the girl who had run toward him as though he were the most precious person in the world—someone she'd been terrified of losing.
The sight caught her off guard. It didn't lessen her concern.
— "J-Jax...? A-are you okay?", her anxious eyes immediately scanned his tall figure.
Meeting that distant, lifeless gaze only made her worry more. The rest of the group was already hurrying toward them, calling his name as they approached.
— "I...", that was all he managed.
His mouth opened slightly before his gaze dropped to the floor. Then... to his own hands.
— "Jax?", Kinger stepped closer, seeing just how broken he looked.
— "A-are you alright? C-can you talk? P-please?", he couldn't help blaming himself for pushing too hard.
They all needed to know what had happened. To Jax, to Caine, to Abel. To the Circus itself.
— "Looks like...", Ragatha quietly joined in —"...it's really that bad, isn't it?"
Jax lowered his hands and let out a long, exhausted sigh. He still hadn't managed to understand any of it himself. And yet everyone was already demanding answers.
"Funny. Now he was suddenly useful."
He stayed silent for a long time. Everyone waited. Even Zooble said nothing, exchanging uneasy glances with a bewildered Gangle.
Jax opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. Then gave a crooked little smile.
"...Come on."
Silence. He stared somewhere past Pomni.
"...Say something."
...
"Well?"
He swallowed hard.
"Make a sarcastic comment."
...
"You're good at that."
He waited. As though he were talking to himself. But nothing came. A quiet, exhausted chuckle escaped him.
"...Pathetic."
Gangle stared at him in complete confusion. Her mouth had fallen slightly open as she studied him. Zooble watched her with the same stunned expression before slowly shifting her eyes back toward Jax. No one understood what they were looking at.
Pomni spoke almost in a whisper, — "...Jax?"
— "...We were left alone.", the words came out abruptly. Flat.
—"...Abel entertained himself."
...
—"...Then Caine started breaking the system."
...
—"...It didn't work."
...
—"...He was hurting."
This pause lasted longer. Much heavier. Then, with another tired breath
— "...So was I."
The sentence slipped out on its own. He hadn't meant to say it. His brow immediately tightened, as if he wanted to snatch the words back before anyone heard them.
The memory returned. Stone swallowing him whole. His body being crushed into jagged polygons. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around himself, holding them tightly against his chest.
Trying. Trying to put the mask back on.
— "...Anyway...", he forced himself to continue.
— "...Ten out of ten.", his already drooping ears sank even lower, — "...Wouldn't recommend it."
Silence. Nobody laughed. Neither did he. Without another word, he lazily stepped to the side, trying to slip past the circle of people surrounding him.
Pomni gently caught his elbow. Not to stop him. Just... to touch him.
— "Wait..."
He didn't even turn around, — "...Don't.", his voice remained calm. Without irritation, —"...I c-can't right now."
Head lowered, he slowly walked away. Ragatha opened her mouth to speak... but remained standing there in silence, watching him go with quiet concern.
Pomni instinctively reached a hand toward him, as though she still wanted to stop him. After a second, she slowly lowered it again and held it against herself.
Kinger never looked away. Of everyone here... he was probably the last person Jax would ever choose to talk to. Too much time had passed. Too much had happened. Yet Jax still carried that resentment. Deep down, he remained convinced that Kinger was the one who had unknowingly set this entire tragedy into motion.
— "...Hey...", that was all Gangle managed to whisper.
Zooble inhaled sharply, "Jesus fucking—"
The words reached the tip of her tongue. She swallowed them anyway.
----
Jax had intended to retreat to his little corner of the shelter. But he knew they'd find him there. They'd keep asking questions. So instead, he wandered deeper into the forgotten clutter still scattered throughout the Circus.
The group remaining near the stage immediately began to panic. It was the first time any of them had ever seen the perpetually sarcastic, carefree rabbit so completely broken.
Naturally, the worst possible explanations came to mind. Zooble was the first to suggest that Caine had finally taken revenge for all the things Jax had done to him. Kinger and Pomni immediately defended him, briefly doing everything they could to paint the AI in the best possible light.
Ragatha backed them up. It was obvious she was still afraid of him herself, but her first meeting with Caine hadn't led to any aggression or hostility.
Gangle believed them. Zooble believed Gangle... and her own eyes. She'd seen for herself that Caine wasn't exactly having an easy time either.
In the end, knowing Pomni was one of the few people Jax might actually allow near him, the little jester went looking for him. The others remained by the stage.
———
At first, Jax simply walked. Without knowing where he was going. Pomni quietly followed from a distance, careful not to let him notice. He wandered in two slow circles around the Circus, which only made her more uneasy.
Passing an old mirror, he glanced at his reflection— and immediately flinched away, jerking his head aside as though he'd frightened himself. When Pomni reached the same mirror, she only grimaced. She looked just as exhausted and worn down.
Eventually, Jax started walking toward the hallway leading to their rooms. Then he remembered. Abel had sealed off the entrance.
He stopped in place, "...Can't even hide properly anymore..."
he muttered, folding his arms tightly across his chest. His eyes settled on a large faded blue-and-pink cube resting against the wall. It formed a perfect little corner.
Without another thought, he headed toward it. He sat down, pulling one leg in slightly. Not all the way into the corner. Just close enough. Staring blankly at the wall, he finally allowed himself to relax.
He'd managed to postpone the panic. To postpone actually processing everything that had happened. But his body refused to cooperate. His hands wouldn't stop trembling. His legs shook without explanation. His heartbeat drowned out every other thought.
— "Jax...?", Pomni's hesitant voice drifted from behind the corner of the cube.
He stayed silent. Hoping she'd leave. He'd known she'd been following him the entire time.
— "Jax.", she waited.
Giving him the chance to answer. The chance to tell her to go away. Otherwise... he'd probably shut her down hard.
— "...Over here."
The words escaped before he even realized he'd spoken. The tiny bells on Pomni's hat jingled softly as she peeked around the corner. She carefully stepped closer... then quietly sat down about three meters away. No hugs, no touching.
For nearly a minute... they simply sat there. Pomni didn't push. She was simply... there.
— "...I hate silence...", he muttered.
— "I... know.", she answered almost shyly.
— "Then say something.", Pomni thought for a moment. Then said the last thing he expected, — "...You were scared."
Silence. His mouth already opened to fire back with some sarcastic remark. Nothing came out. He closed it, tried again.
...
— "...Fuck you.", barely above a whisper.
No anger. Pomni looked at him for a long moment. Then quietly shook her head.
— "I'll stay here... until you're ready."
He wasn't. Not yet. At least... he could tell everyone what had happened. They needed that information. After another long minute... something inside him finally cracked.
— "...He..."
— "...He..."
— "...He was trying to protect me."
Pomni slowly turned toward him. She thought she understood. She'd experienced that same fear of Caine herself. Jax continued staring straight ahead.
— "...Do you get it...?"
— "Y-yeah?", Pomni nodded carefully. She already knew Caine had been trying to protect them from Abel.
— "...I don't... he was afraid..."
"...that Abel would turn his attention to me."
— "...So..."
A nervous laugh escaped him.
— "...God..."
— "...He..."
"...actually wanted me to stay close to him."
— "...So..."
"...Abel couldn't get to me."
Pomni remained silent. She couldn't quite follow his story. His thoughts came out in fragments. The rest... he finished only inside his own head.
— "...Then..."
"...he started breaking the system."
— "...And..."
"...it was the dumbest... most suicidal... idea I've ever seen."
— "...And..."
"...I couldn't do anything."
He suddenly sucked in a shaky breath through his nose. A quiet sob slipped out. Pomni actually flinched. She could already feel the weight that conversation was about to place on her shoulders.
~~~~
— "...No."
"...They'll be alright."
Kinger had originally set out to check on them. He'd seen Pomni pacing back and forth and assumed she'd simply lost track of Jax. So he'd gone after her.
Now... he'd heard enough. He'd heard Pomni get closer to Jax than anyone else ever had. The best thing he could do now... was leave.
Years ago, he would've stepped in. Because he wanted to help. Then he heard it.
— "...He was trying to protect me."
Kinger froze. If he walked out now... this conversation would end.
He'd destroy the only thread of trust Jax had finally allowed to form.
Only now did he truly understand.
Sometimes... helping meant not interfering. If he stepped forward... this moment would disappear forever.
"...Looks like... I'm not needed anymore."
At first glance... it sounded lonely. But to Kinger... it was one of the happiest thoughts he'd had in a very long time. For the first time... people were beginning to support one another... without him.
"The rest... should stay between the two of them."
Standing quietly just beyond the corner where Pomni had been moments earlier, Kinger carefully turned around... and walked away as silently as he could, making sure neither of them ever realized he'd been there.
-------
After talking with Pomni, Jax felt... a little better. Not much. But enough to get some of it out. Even if it came out in broken pieces. Before leaving, Pomni offered him a few quiet words of advice, then gave him the space he clearly needed. Time to breathe, time to think, time to make sense of what had happened.
Jax already knew he'd have to tell the others. But now... the reason had changed. Before, he would've done it because, "Well... someone has to." Or he simply would've lied. Now there was only one thought stuck in his head.
"If I don't tell them... no one's going to believe Caine again."
— "So...", Jax returned to the shelter. Sitting down on the couch, he searched for the right words.
— "...Everything's...", he lowered his head, —"...really fucking bad."
— "We figured," Zooble replied, doing her best to stay patient.
Jax nodded, — "Yeah."
A pause.
— "...But not the way you think.", he looked up. One foot had started quietly tapping against the floor, just like an actual rabbit's.
— "Abel...", his eyes drifted toward the cluttered coffee table, — "...He never talked... he just played with us."
Another pause.
— "...He kept yanking Caine around by those chains... Literally pulling him apart... Then..."
He hesitated, — "...he grabbed me—", he stopped himself.
— "...No.", he frowned. — "...He didn't grab me.... he pulled me."
...
— "...He wanted me to come closer... because the floor started collapsing right underneath me, and—", he rubbed his temple.
Only now was he beginning to reinterpret everything that had happened. During those first few minutes... he'd seen it as an attack. But afterward... it hadn't been anything like that.
His eyes met Kinger's worried gaze. Without realizing it, he found himself speaking mostly to him.
— "...Caine started breaking the system... he completely stopped paying attention to me.... he was trying to fight back against Abel... or maybe just break out of those chains... the whole place started falling apart... but that's not even the point!"
He hadn't noticed his voice climbing higher with every sentence, — "...He forced Abel to answer... the only thing he demanded... was that Abel leave us alone."
The memory flashed vividly through his mind. Those few precious seconds when the muzzle had come off. Caine hadn't used them to scream. He hadn't begged, he hadn't threatened, he'd spent every second fighting for everyone else's safety.
— "...He demanded guarantees.", Jax lowered his eyes again, "...He was fighting Abel... because of us."
No one answered immediately. Not because there was nothing to say. But because every single one of them suddenly felt ashamed.
Pomni lowered her gaze. Ragatha instinctively squeezed her bandaged arm. Gangle hugged her ribbons a little tighter. Zooble quietly looked away. Kinger was the first to break the silence.
— "...He still sees us as his responsibility."
Silence returned. No one wanted to speak. Each of them had sunk into their own thoughts.
— "...All this time...", Kinger slowly looked around at the others, —"...we've been trying to figure out whether Caine had changed."
Another pause.
— "...but we never stopped to ask...", his voice grew quieter, —"...whether we had."
Several minutes later, the familiar mechanical hum echoed throughout the Circus once again. Abel appeared in his true form. A massive blue sphere floated high beneath the ceiling, glowing with a soft azure light. The people below instinctively braced themselves for another triumphant speech.
"Attempt to restore system privileges complete."
"Result: unsatisfactory."
Jax glared up at him from beneath lowered brows. Waiting. Expecting Abel to recount every ounce of fear and humiliation he'd extracted during the experiment. Instead... for the first time...
Abel acknowledged not only Caine's failure— but its consequences.
"Observation and testing will nevertheless continue."
— "...Bastard...", Jax muttered under his breath, "...He'll always find time and energy for torture."
Pomni grimaced beside him.
"To continue observation..."
"A new procedure has been implemented."
"Group and individual visits with Subject C.A.I.N. are now authorized."
Everyone's eyebrows shot upward. Had Abel... actually shown mercy?
Of course not.
"Subject to the following conditions."
...
"Access to Subject C.A.I.N. will be granted according to a fixed schedule."
"Visit duration is limited."
"Any escape attempt will immediately terminate the session."
"All interactions will be recorded."
So... it wasn't a reward. It was simply another experiment. For Caine... it was almost ironic. He'd fought for exactly this. And now... it had become another cage.
"These changes will take effect once system recovery is complete."
"Subjects will be notified of further adjustments as necessary."
The blue glow gradually faded. Growing dimmer... and dimmer... until the sphere disappeared altogether. At first, Kinger's face showed nothing but concern. He was thinking intensely, resting one hand beneath his chin out of old habit.
Gangle noticed. She quietly watched him with curiosity. Then Pomni caught something else. The faintest hint of a smile. His large blue eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
— "Kinger...?", she asked.
The others turned toward him as well. Jax glanced sideways at him, utterly unable to understand what could possibly make him smile now.
— "W-what?", Gangle adjusted the bandage around her face, —"...Isn't... that bad?"
Kinger thought for a moment, — "...I don't know.", his smile disappeared, —"...But we need to learn faster."
A quiet pause.
— "...This time... he didn't share his reasoning with us."
He looked toward the place where Abel had vanished, —"...He's stopped revealing how he thinks."
—●-●-●-●-●—
Previous and Next Masterlist
So that’s how it is! Abel had indeed managed to learn a great deal—and, most importantly, he realized he ought to talk less. After yet another attack from Cain (this time the most powerful one yet) — Abel had learned how to defend the system effectively.
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