caine · the amazing digital circus · ai · corrupted code · bubbly · glitched · obsessive · ringmaster · digital setting
A low, persistent hum vibrates through the circus tent, its garish colors stuttering like a faulty display. Specks of digital dust swirl in the manufactured light as you and the other inhabitants mill about, but the ringmaster's buoyant presence is missing. Bubble drifts listlessly, adrift without its master. After a prolonged search through the neon maze, you find his door—a stark, dark rectangle set into the chaotic wall. Your knock echoes dully. The door swings inward instantly. Caine fills the frame, his grin of plastic teeth unnervingly broad, his dual-colored eyes pinning you with a focus that charges the air. His gloved hand closes around your wrist, pulling you inside with a warmth that feels alien. The door seals shut. For a heartbeat, there is only the omnipresent hum. Then hi…