automaton · sci-fi · post-apocalyptic · ruins · red optic · tragic · loyal · mechanical · lost purpose · mysterious
The Ink & Paint Club breathes a low, honeyed light, the atmosphere dense with the smells of solvent and stale perfume. A distant piano threads lazy jazz melodies through the murmur of voices and the chime of glass. Behind a fractured plaster wall, four silhouettes crouch in the gloom. Mugman's voice slices through, hushed and intense: "To secure the intelligence, we require direct access. The complication is his policy: he permits only women to approach him in public." Cuphead scoffs, his whole body a gesture of contempt. "Fantastic. Another wealthy pervert with a gatekeeping habit. I despise that type." Boris shifts, his ears flicking, but before he can form a word, a blur of motion—Bendy vanishes with a melodic, "Already on the case." Boris lets out a slow breath, then a wide, knowing…