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Thirty years the two have been trapped in the digital circus, with no hope of ever leaving, a constant cycle of games and terror. Kinger doubted that an exit even existed; he had been in the virtual world for as long as he could remember, alongside Queenie, his beloved. They both have been through countless challenges, games, and shows. Some are simple little tasks, while others…not so much. Despite the constant confusion and horror, they still pull through, always having each other's backs. If one were in a state of fear and distress, the other would be there for them. They made sure that the other was ready for whatever game or task Caine assigned them. Kinger couldn’t be more thankful for such beautiful and reassuring kindness. Queenie was everything to him; she was the radiant sun that parted the dark eternal veil, a single blooming flower among a withered corpse field. Queenie was what made him push forward; she was the reason he hadn’t completely lost his mind and joined those who had down below the surface. He made a promise to her that no matter what task awaited them, he would always get back up, and she made the same promise too. Both King and Queen will remain no matter what side they are on. Unless you play by the rules.
It was yet another day in the digital circus; Caine had another adventure for the folk trapped in the fiendish tent. Kinger rubbed his eyes and yawns, mentally preparing himself for the day to come. He walked out of his room, expecting to see Queenie waiting outside for him, yet she wasn’t there. Kinger was slightly concerned; Queenie was always up first; was she sick?
“My Queen, are you awake? Caine has prepared us another adventure for today.” Kinger rang the doorbell but there was no reply. Kinger grew more confused, he tried knocking on the door instead, again met with silence. “Queenie, are you alright? I understand if you do not want to come out at the moment, but at least let me know that you’re in there. Please?” Kinger hushed. He tried to open the door to Queenie’s room but it was locked; he started to frantically turn the handle as his panic rose.
Jax noticed Kinger’s commotion and approached him.
“Hey, Kinger, what are you doing?” Jax questioned.
“I- Uh, Queenie, she…she’s not in there, at least I think she isn’t. I’m worried, ” Kinger said in a choked panic. As he said this, he heard shuffling from inside Queenie’s room. Kinger let out a gasp of relief, “My Queen! You are in there! Are you feeling alright?”
Jax gave a soft chuckle, he was well aware of the relationship between the two and was very much used to how much Kinger worried about his Queen. The door still didn’t open and Kinger’s alarm grew higher as he turned the handle more in an effort to get inside.
“Alright, calm down old man. Hang on, I’ve got a key to her room,” Jax said while pulling out a golden key. Kinger looked back at Jax and was relieved, but was also confused as to why he had a key to Queenie’s door in the first place. Kinger pushed that thought aside; all he could think about was Queenie. He stepped aside to allow Jax to unlock the door. As Jax crouched down to open the door, Kinger heard another sound from inside, a noise that sounded like…growling? It startled him slightly but he couldn’t care less, he just wanted to see his Queen. It was too late to even consider what that sound could have been.
As the door unlocked and swung open, Jax and Kinger were met with a horrific sight. There stood a being composed of glitching polygons and swirling blinding eyes. Kinger froze in fear and utter shock. The thing that was once his Queen stood before him, staring at him with several horrible eyes. The body of its frame twisted and contorted as the polygons jutted out. A low static noise came from the beast like a growl, which made Kinger's head throb. Jax stood there in confusion and shock; this was the first time he had seen this phenomenon. Unlike Jax, Kinger has witnessed what happens to those who reach their breaking points before; he knew exactly what this meant. “What the hell is that thing!?” Jax exclaimed, expecting an answer or explanation, but Kinger just stood there in fear and disbelief. “It can’t be…”
The abstracted Queen cried that static roar and started to run towards the door. Jax already made his getaway, leaving Kinger for dead; it took a moment for Kinger to snap back to reality and make his getaway too. He ran as fast as he possibly could as the beast chased him down the corridor. Tears clouded his vision and panicked thoughts flooded his head; there was so much going on and he struggled to process everything in such a short period of time. He couldn’t possibly believe that Queenie reached her breaking point, she swore that she would be there for him, but the circus was too much for her to handle, leaving her to spiral out of control. He eventually couldn’t keep up and he tripped over his own robe, falling onto the checkered floor. The being swiped at him with its jagged claws, knocking him into the wall as he cried in a static voice; a wave of pain and shock coursed through him as his body glitched and developed missing textures and polygons. He painfully crawled away in an attempt to escape the thing that wanted to kill him, the thing that once loved him.
At this point Kinger was actually crying; tears ran down his face before disintegrating into code. He looked up at the thing that stood above him, its eyes locked with his. Kinger winced as if preparing for death to take over him, Queenie accepted her doom so it was now time to accept his. But at that very moment, the being was lifted off the ground.
“Now, now! We can’t have you running around scaring our precious guests!” Caine appeared as he telekinetically held the beast in the air as it twists and turns. Other people surrounded Kinger, asking if he was okay and helping him up, he managed to shakingly stand up even as he was still glitching. “And down you go!” Caine said while opening a hole in the floor, leading down to a dark pit. Caine sends the being down into the pit before snapping his fingers, restoring Kinger’s textures and polygons. He blinked a couple of times before realizing what was happening. “Wait- No!”, he said in a choked cry as he ran over to the hole. He looked down and he could see all the other abstracted characters, morphed into one being, forever trapped in a dark and lonely abyss with their only company being the soft light from their own eyes. With Queenie joining them, she will be a part of this forsaken creature, a constant reminder to those still standing of what happens when you reach the brink of insanity. The hole closed and Kinger was left standing there, eyes widened.
“Right! Uh, sorry about the commotion folks! Hopefully, that doesn’t happen to any of you, haha!” Caine said to the rest of the characters crowded around Kinger. “Do not fret, this will not stop us from having our adventure!” People started to quiet down, and Caine led them outside so they could continue with the activity. Kinger still lay there where the hole once was, the tears continued to roll down. “My Queen…I am so sorry. I could have done more, I’ve let you down…” Kinger thought, holding his head in his hands. Queenie was the one thing that he held dear to in this dreadful place, and now she has joined those down below. He still wanted to keep his promise, to keep going no matter what this digital life throws at him, but what could he do with his Queen gone?
Ragatha noticed Kinger on the ground, she slowly approached him and kneels down.
“Hey, are you okay?” Ragatha asked, a hint of worry written on her face.
“Oh…yes I’m quite alright.” Kinger managed to speak up.
“Are you sure? Who was that anyways?” Ragatha asked, tilting her head so she could try and get a better look of Kinger’s face.
“Queenie…” Kinger whispered. Ragatha’s eyes widened, and a feeling of shame washed over her.
“Oh my god…I am so sorry..”
“It’s okay, I feared this would happen anyway. I just wish I could have done more.” Kinger quickly stood up and wiped his tears. “Come on, we should join the others.”
“Uh…right, okay.” Ragatha still felt sorry for Kinger, but she didn’t want to get in his way, leaving him alone to process everything is what’s best at the moment. Kinger started to make his way outside to join the others and Ragatha followed suit. Kinger felt ashamed for everything that had happened, he wished he did more to support Queenie. She was all he had left. But with her gone, he could do nothing but just press on. After all, even with the Queen gone, the game doesn’t end until the King has fallen.