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I think… I accidentally killed Caine.
Pomni couldn't find words, and kept staring at Kinger. Zooble broke the silence.
"What the fuck?"
"Did we just...win?" Gangle said.
Jax laughed. "Seriously, Gangle? You think we’d still be here if that was the case?"
Gangle didn’t need another mask to show she was breaking apart.
"Guys, guys!" Ragatha interrupted the group. "This couldn't really be that bad, right? At least we're still here".
Jax huffed. "That's the point, genius," he said as he started walking away.
His words didn't matter anymore. Caine was now gone, and they were left alone with themselves. No one to guide them through this hell.
The world around them shook, and a bigger part of the floor disappeared.
Whatever was left of the colorful circus was now drained of all life, bits and pieces of it disappearing slowly. A dark, endless void started creeping from below.
“Okay,” Pomni said while forcing herself to be calm. “Are we sure this isn’t just another one of Caine’s adventures?” She was really trying to keep her fake smile. Jax kept his eyes fixed on her.
“Yes, it would be impossible,” Kinger said, reassuringly. “I am certain I deleted Caine’s program… By accident,” he added, after feeling everyone’s stares on him.
It didn’t matter if they had won or not. They needed to find a way out before there was no floor left.
They caught a glimpse of shiny eyes from below them.
“No,” Jax quietly said. “It can’t be…”
He started shaking, his reality collapsing.
This is actually happening.
The ceiling suddenly split, and there was a feeling of emptiness that washed over everyone. Pomni knew she’d felt this before, when she first stumbled upon the void.
This was their way out, their victory over this digital hell.
She looked at the others with determination and nodded. “The void must be our exit.”
“Wha- what are you talking about?” Zooble asked, also speaking for the others’ confusion.
Pomni didn’t know how to answer. She kept staring at the huge tear in the sky, it looked like the only thing not falling apart was beyond it.
She looked back into the void below them and finally said, “I don’t think there’s anyone holding the abstractions down there anymore. If the cellar is gone, we might abstract too.” She turned to look at Jax.
He regained some of his composure once he felt Pomni’s eyes on him. “So what? We all know it was that guy’s fault over there,” he pointed at Kinger. “Anyone wanna take bets on who’s losing it first? My money’s on Gangle.”
“Stop it, Jax,” said Zooble, shutting him down before he brought anyone else down. They then turned to Pomni. “You mentioned the void. What does that even have to do with leaving this shithole?”
Pomni hesitated.
“When I first got here, I… accidentally discovered an exit door,” she said. “Or… I might have manifested that door.”
Something clicked for Ragatha. “The butterflies…” she whispered.
“We seem to have some control over this world,” Kinger added. “Erasing Caine may have given us more authority over it.”
“Pfft,” Jax huffed. “Some mere NPCs like us couldn’t do anything. Don’t try to act as if you made it better for us, you cuckoo.”
Pomni started walking toward him, carefully navigating the disappearing floor.
“Jax, you know he’s telling the truth. You taught me that when we had guns before, remember?”
She grabbed his wrist. He flinched, but didn’t move away.
“When I used that door,” she continued, “it led me to an office, where I got the computer for Kinger. It wasn’t Caine’s creation, it was real. He had to bring me back here once I reached the void, and I could tell that area wasn’t under his control”.
There was a moment of silence.
Jax’s expression shifted. “So, you’re saying that void isn’t part of the system?”
Kinger answered for her. “It does make sense. Caine tried hard to keep it from us.”
The ground shook again.
“Uh… guys?” Gangle said, trembling. “We should get out of here, soon.”
The abstractions were almost there.
A feeling of uncertainty swallowed the group. Pomni’s body started glitching, her mind started disappearing. This time, it was Jax who wouldn’t let go of her wrist.
Then the others started glitching too.
“What is… happening?” Ragatha said, remembering how she felt when Kaufmo attacked.
“We cannot let go of ourselves,” Pomni said, trying to remain as calm as possible. “We’re not programs, we can still get out of here and get our true identities back.”
“What about the other guys?” Zooble asked, keeping themselves together. “You know… like Kaufmo?” They looked at Jax.
He didn’t reply, but he started glitching more.
Pomni couldn’t let him abstract. Not when they were this close to getting out.
She grabbed his hand. “We won’t let this change us.” She then closed her eyes.
Suddenly, stairs leading to an exit door appeared in front of them, and she started walking toward it while keeping Jax close. The others followed them.
“We get out of here, and we stop this.” Pomni said to Jax. “We will bring Kaufmo and Ribbit back, I promise.”
Jax nodded, looking down. For once, there was no sarcasm coming from him, only his true feelings.
“Yeah,” he said quietly, “I guess I’ll see you on the other side.”
Pomni let go of his hand, and was the first one to go through the door.
She disappeared into the void.
The others hesitated for a second, but they followed shortly after her. The door closed behind them.
For the first time, there were no humans left in the digital circus. The abstractions had frozen in time, disintegrating.
The rest of the circus started disappearing as well, leaving only void.
Suddenly, the digital world shut down.
They had made it out. They won.
Everyone’s files were getting erased, never to be used this way again.
Old friends got reunited, and they were able to have real drinks together.
Just like old times.