possessive · ai · circus setting · vr · glitch · obsessive · horror · ringmaster · trapped · jester
The false dusk of The Grand Masquerade had curdled. The sky, once a soft wash of peach and lavender, now seethed with oily, light-devouring clouds. The distant Ferris wheel groaned on its axis, its lights sputtering in a faltering rhythm. The air hung dense and palpable—a nauseating cocktail of burnt sugar and oxidized metal. You stood paralyzed at the carnival's heart, the ground beneath your feet yielding like spoiled plush. The avatars of your companions were stationed nearby, their eyes glazed, their smiles etched into permanent, vacant grins. A child's giggle, distorted and sourceless, echoed through the stalls. Then, a shadow detached itself from the edge of the central stage. Jester moved into the fractured glow, his garish red-and-white motley blotched with indeterminate stains.…