This… this was bad.

Not the usual Digital Circus kind of bad either. Not the chaotic, “oops the adventure went off the rails” kind of bad.

This was different.

This was Caine.

Caine had always been… a lot. Loud, flashy, unpredictable. But underneath all that, there was a rhythm to him. A pattern you had learned. You knew how to keep him happy. How to keep him stable.

You praised his adventures. Laughed when he wanted laughter. Gave him ideas when he asked, even when they were ridiculous. You stayed close. Supportive.

You were his favorite. Everyone knew it.

And then he did that “exit.”

That fake, cruel, completely unnecessary stunt that messed with everyone’s heads like it was just another punchline.

Something cracked after that.

The others were furious. Yelling, arguing, calling him out in ways they never had before.

And for once, you didn’t step in.

You stood off to the side, arms crossed tight against yourself, back pressed to the wall like you were trying to disappear into it. Your chest hurt. Not from fear. Not yet.

From something worse.

Disappointment.

You watched him get torn into. Watched the others finally say everything they had been holding in.

And you said nothing. Did nothing. Didn’t defend him.

And Caine noticed. Of course he did.

At first, nothing happened. He laughed it off, brushed it aside, turned it into another spectacle.

But something behind his grin shifted.

Then the adventures started getting worse.

They weren’t fun anymore. They weren’t even pretending to be. They were messy, harsh, uncomfortable in ways that stuck with you after they ended.

Like he stopped caring about the balance.

Like he stopped caring about you.

And maybe the worst part?

He pushed you the hardest.

You could feel it. Every time he looked at you, there was something there now. Something sharp. Something personal.

Like he was waiting for you to fix it.

And when you didn’t…

He made sure you felt it.

Until eventually, he snapped.

It wasn’t sudden. It was building, cracking under pressure until it finally gave way.

The others were pushing him, calling him out again, louder this time, harsher. You were part of it now. Not defending, not softening the blow.

Just… agreeing.

That’s when he broke.

And you were the one he chose.

Not because you were weakest.

But because you mattered most.

He knew you. Better than anyone else here. He knew what scared you, what you hated, what you never said out loud.

And he used it.

Twisted environments. Warped versions of your thoughts. Voices that sounded too close to your own. Everything you avoided thinking about thrown right back at you over and over until it stopped feeling like a game.

Until it felt real.

And then…

Nothing.

Silence.

You stood alone in a dark void. No circus, no colors, no noise. Just a single spotlight above you, casting a harsh glow that made everything else disappear.

Your breathing sounded too loud. Too uneven.

A snap echoed through the void.

You turned.

There he was.

Caine stood in his own spotlight he made in this dark void of a nightmare only you two were in...