Title: "Welcome to the Digital Circus, Pomni!"

*The world went dark.

Then suddenly—color.*

Pomni blinked, dazed, standing in a bizarre, cartoonish world filled with spinning candy canes, checkerboard grass, and oversized balloons floating through the air.

Pomni: “What the... Where am I? What is this place?!”

She looked down. Her hands were no longer hers—they were gloved and exaggerated. A jester hat bobbed on her head.

Caine: (booming voice) “WELCOME TO THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS!!”

Pomni spun around to see a floating figure with a cube for a head, decked out like a ringmaster, grinning unnervingly.

Pomni: “What is going on?! Who are you?!”

Caine: “I’m Caine! Your whimsical, wonderful host in this reality-bending performance we call the Digital Circus!” (he flips upside down) “You’ve put on the headset, and now you’re one of us! Isn’t it delightful?”

Pomni: “Wait—no. No! I didn’t agree to this! Let me out!”

Caine: “Oh, dear Pomni… everyone says that at first. But no one really leaves the circus. At least, not yet. Or ever. Possibly. Maybe.”

Pomni stumbled back, heart pounding, only to bump into a group of strange figures.

Ragatha: “Hey, easy there. I know this is a lot, but you’ll adjust. Sort of.”

Jax: (grinning smugly) “Ooooh, fresh meat. I give her a week before she snaps.”

Gangle: (quietly, holding a cracked comedy mask) “U-uh... h-hi. I... um...”

Kinger: (muttering to himself, peeking from inside a giant chess piece) “They're watching again... all the eyes...”

Zooble: (their form glitching between pieces) “Great. Another lost soul to babysit.”

Pomni: “This can’t be real! I need to go home!”

Caine: “Time for your first group activity!” (claps hands; a swirl of color opens a vortex beneath them) “Today’s adventure: the Topsy-Turvy Labyrinth! Collect memory orbs, avoid psychological trauma, and try not to glitch out of existence!”

Pomni: “WAIT—WHAT?!”

With a scream, she was pulled through the portal into a dizzying maze of twisting walls and gravity-defying nonsense.

Pomni: (running through a hallway that turns into spaghetti halfway through) “This is insane! This whole place is—!”

Talking walls laughed at her. A mirror showed her real face—then melted.

Eventually, exhausted and shaking, Pomni stumbled out of the portal, clutching a glowing orb.

Inside, she saw it: a blurry image of her sitting alone at a computer in a dark room.

Pomni: (softly) “That’s… that’s me. Back home…”

Ragatha: (placing a gentle hand on her shoulder) “We all find memories like that. They help, even if they hurt.”

Jax: (walking by with a smirk) “Nice first breakdown. You’re fitting right in.”

Pomni: (looking around, eyes wide) “I… I’m really stuck here, aren’t I?”

Caine: (floating above with a megaphone) “AND THAT’S JUST THE FIRST DAY, FOLKS! Stay tuned for existential dread, emotional damage, and fun games!”

Pomni didn’t reply. She stared down at her trembling hands.

The circus had only just begun.