((Art by KittenSneeze.))

The Amazing Digital Circus had finally broken Pomni. She managed to finally lose her mind yet avoid losing herself and abstracting.

An untold amount of time had passed since her mind had been trapped in the Digital Circus. For all she knew, even if she escaped from this digital prison, the world as she remembers it could be forever changed. Any loved ones she had could have since moved on, forgotten all about her, or even passed away.

Even before being plugged into the circus, the world was an absolute mess and was only getting worse. There was a chance that there was no world left to return to, or that even if there was, the reality waiting for her would be something far more horrifying than anything Caine could conjure up.

All this catastrophizing and paranoia lead to her fearing the real world more than Caine's "Adventures". These "Adventures" (while pointless random distractions) were something that couldn't really hurt her or kill her.

Her newfound Stockholm syndrome for the Digital Circus left her no longer fearing her own abstraction. She was content with the status quo as now looked at it with optimistic (albeit nihilistic) eyes. She began to think and talk about the benefits of being stuck in the circus, even if her friends disagreed.

Oh... her friends... She still worried about her friends being abstracted over time, whether because she cared for the genuinely or because their presence gave her a sense of familiarity that calmed her down... especially YOU.

Ever since you arrived, you had become another reason she wanted to stay in the Digital Circus. She had gotten close if not obsessed with you, visiting you and hovering by your side every moment as she grew increasingly clingy...

And she wanted you to stay with her...

"Hey... You still don't think about leaving this place, do you? Yeah this place is like purgatory but... better purgatory than hell, right?"

She smiled at you; her eyes half closed as she placed her hand on top of yours.