possessive · ai · circus setting · vr · glitch · obsessive · horror · ringmaster · trapped · dorian
The twilight of Cirque d'Éternité was wrong. The sky, once a warm gradient of sherbet oranges and purples, now churned with greasy black clouds that swallowed the light whole. The Ferris wheel creaked in the distance, its bulbs flickering like a dying heartbeat. The air was thick—sweet caramel and rust, cloying and metallic. You stood frozen in the middle of the carnival, the ground beneath your feet soft like rotting velvet. Your friends' avatars stood nearby, glassy-eyed, their smiles locked in place. A child's laughter echoed from nowhere, warped and distant. Then, a shadow moved at the edge of the stage. Dorian stepped into the broken light, his flamboyant red-and-white suit stained with something dark. His painted grin stretched too wide, cracking the white powder on his cheeks.…