I didn't really think much when i started writing that Novel.
It was just a way to cope, with grieving loss and an aching pain in my chest that wouldn't go away.
For some reason, i just can't remember...
Why was i in pain again?
...
「Wake up.」
「Wake....」
「Adeli....」
....huh?
Nico opened his eyes as the flowing sound of waves made his ear twitch.
He was lying on what seemed like sand, made of sprakling particles and something that resembled crushed sea shells.
A dome of darkness covered his surroundings.
To his right, was an ocean the colour of space, that glowed luminescent everytime it rippled to the shore.
As he looked up, he saw orbs of different colours, each representing a radiant star.
Or atleast...he thought it was stars.
'Where....am i?'
A voice from the sea, Ethereal and soothing, made its way to him.
「Nowhere」
Nico turned to look at where the voice came from, but there was no one. Only the splashing of waves as it crashed on the 'sand'.
Usually, this is when he would panic, but the atmosphere made it almost impossible to do so.
It was just so...
Calming.
A feeling, that, he didn't have the strength to reject at the moment.
"Is–" Nico hesitated, then raised his voice,
"Is someone there?"
「Not 'someone'」
Although conflicted, for some reason, Nico didn't find this odd.
Or perhaps, he just didn't want to think about it anymore. He just wanted to wake up.
"What..are you?"
He was now standing up, as he answered to the sea, waiting for a response.
'I'm going mad'
'Didn't i die...?'
「You can't pass in your own story.」
"Pass?"
Did it mean...die?
Was that what it called death?
Nico gazed at the hypnotic tranquil glow at the horizon, where the space-like ocean met the void-like sky.
In a slight ponder, he came to a conclusion.
'...who cares, actually?'
Seriously, where even was he?
"Where am i?!"
Nico voiced his question a bit louder, feeling noticibly distressed.
He has had better days.
'So....what was going on?'
「Inbetween」
The voice almost made him jump. Since it was so quiet, he thought it had gone elsewhere.
"Inbetween where?"
「Everywhere. Nowhere.」
'.....'
"Well...this certainly feels like it is getting nowhere." Nico muttered under his breath.
He couldn't respond to such an answer. He was utterely speechless.
This was the worst prank in history.
"...are you always going to speak in such a way?"
「. . . 」
'Hah....'
Damn it.
Nico brushed back his hair stressfully.
「Adelious.」
...!?
「You are dreaming.」
The voice was a bit louder now, giving the illusion that it was closer.
But still, no figured appeared.
Nico's eyes lit up.
"So, this really was all a dream..!"
「. . . 」
"Then, if i just wait for abit, i will wake up, right?"
He walked along the shoreline, waiting for an answer from the unknown creature– who he presumed was in the ocean.
Or perhaps, was the ocean itself?
He couldn't tell.
「 You agreed on becoming a 'Creator'.」
'...huh?'
He paused in his tracks. His footsetps behind him, washed away with the tide.
This wasn't the answer he was waiting for.
He was hoping for a simple "yes" or some instructions on how to wake up.
Not that.
「As a creator, take responsibility.」
....wait, what?
Responsibility?
「Your creation. Your story.」
"Wait..." Nico found it difficult to understand what was happening.
Was this about the competition?
The conditions of the competition?
Or something else entirely?
「An ending.」
The waves suddenly pulled back, building up momentum as it gathered itself.
「Create an ending for your story」
「Then, choose」
Nico turned and watched as the waves suddenly stopped to pull back, and instead, pile itself to form a large wall made of liquid in the distance.
Slowly, Nico watched as the wall formed, and get bigger with every blink.
In a daze, he mumbled some words,
"Choose....what"?
Still staring in the distance.
「Yourself」
「Or」
「Everything else」
Upon hearing the words, Nico realised that the wall wasn't getting bigger.
It was getting closer.
But by the time he realised that fact, it was too late.
The wall curved foward, and crashed down. In an instant, Nico felt his entire body get engulfed by the flowing wave.
He tried to escape by swimming to the surface, but the liquid was too heavy, and his body dragged further down as a result.
'....help!!'
Thrashing, he moved his hands to push through the liquid, but his vision was dimming, and by the time the water started to subside, he lost all the air in his lungs....
「Let's meet again」
And fell back asleep.
...
(𝄞 ⋆˚࿔♫⋆˚࿔♫⋆｡♪ ˚♬ ﾟ.)
(𝄞♫⋆｡♪ ♬ ﾟ.♪♫♪⋆˚࿔♫⋆˚࿔ ˊ˗ )
The sound of festive carnival music was the first thing that Nico realised when he awoke, filling the air with a sense of cheerfulness and celebration.
The second thing, was the bright colourful lights that hung on every lamp and tree, highlighting a singular path in the middle of the night, from the outside stalls and shops, to a bright red and yellow-striped tent, set up just outside a rural village.
Children and adults that lived in the nearby village all seemed to have been walking to the giant tent, that now had ray of lights beaming into the outside.
"Hurry! Hurry! Its staring soon!
"Wait up! Let me just quickly get a snack from the shop!"
"Hahahha!"
"There are snacks in the Circus! Why waste time?!"
"Wait dear – slow down!"
"But its starting!!"
The lively sound of children laughing and adults hurrying, took up most of the attention in Nico's head.
...along with the fact that, no matter how hard he looked....he couldn't see any of the people's faces.
They were blurred out or blank — replaced by an errie darkness.The only thing that could be seen on their face was the mouth, or what seemed like a mouth, a strip of a white-filled line curved across the bottom of their faces. Like it had been painted above a dark canvas, it looked animated, moving slightly as they communicated among themselves. That white curved line – never changed, staying open and curved the entire time they talked and walked.
Glancing at the other villagers, Nico noticed one of them walking on their own, a young adult that was making their way to the tent's entrance, minding their own business.
Perhaps, its because he had been staring at them for too long, trying to analyse the bizzare situation, but more than a minute of staring, and the figure abruptly stopped in their tracks,
...then sharply turned their head in Nico's direction.
Their wide smile grew noticably wider, as Nico's head started grow foggy. He couldn't stop staring like he was hypnotised –he, found it hard to look away.
Did he even want to look away?
He wasn't sure.
'No, i do!'
He wasn't sure.
Was he sure?
'I can't...'
He couldn't look away.
After their head turned, the rest of their body turned too. Swift and almost robotic – a large contrast to how it was moving before.
They started to take slow steps to him, the closer they got, the wider their smile became, the more dizzy he felt.
By the time the smile had stretched from the cheeks to the place where the creatures eyes should have been, Nico's world started to spin.
He dug his shoes deeper into the soil, hoping for some stability so his legs didn't give out.
He was about to collapse again.
How many times had he passed out in just a day?!?
He wasn't sure anymore.
He just knew– that if he did pass out now, that would be the last time he ever did.
Maybe it was instinct or intuition, but it seemed the case.
Nico's vision was starting to waver.
Slowly...
Slowly.....
Suddenly, the sound of a loud speaker coming from the tent started to make an announcement.
<𝄞 Attention~! To all eager spectators and travelers, please make your way to wandering Circus!>
'Wandering Circus..?'
The figure stopped in their tracks and turned their head to the beaming tent.
<𝄞 The Show is Starting~!>
A medlodic-like voice coming from the speaker, made the creature's smile reconfigure itself back to normal, and without looking back, continued to joyfully make its way to the tent again.
Nico managed to grasped himself back to reality, as he carefully turned to watch the figure strut to the tent.
Then immediately looked away.
'....!'
'What was that?'
Was it...coming for me? Because i stared for too long?
Nico's pinched his right arm to focus his attention on the pain and try to regain strength in his body, that was shaking all over.
[𝄞♫⋆｡♪ ˚♬ ﾟ.♪♫♪~!]
Upon all the other forms of stimulants that existed and overwhelmed him, Nico's gaze naturally shifted to the tent once again.
'It's the music....'
Its coming from the tent.
The music started to become louder, signaling the beginning of the show.
'Its starting.'
'I don't want to miss it...'
Like in a trace from the music, Nico followed the crowd to the tent's entrance avoiding eye contact as he went.
His feat was walking on his own, but...his head knew better.
Either stay near the village area with no one there, run to the forest where he could get lost – or, go to the place everyone is gathering and blend in.
'Thats right.'
'Blending in is my best bet.'
'As long as i don't stare for too long or make an sudden movements, it should be fine.'
Based on the conversation he had with the ocean-creature before, and when he ended up in that school with Calistus – he figured he was no longer in his actual world, but in a world that consisted of 'stories'.
It was hard to believe at first, but judging by what happened just now, it seemed like the most likely explanation.
Besides, he felt like he knew this place.
This story.
He just needed more information on what it was.
He moved his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead as he carefully entered the tent.
He was then greeted with the same voice from the announcement, that was now standing on a large circular stage at the very centre.
<𝄞 Come one, Come all~! To the amazing, ever-so-dazzling, Wandering Circus~!>
The crowd, that consisted of faceless people with large white grins, sat in rows that ran around the entire tent, all facing the centre stage.
Upon hearing the announcement, they started to chant in unison, cheering as their heads moved side to side.
There was sound coming from them – cheer, laughter, encouragement, excitement – but their mouths didn't move, and their faces showed no signs of expression.
Nico could only watch their body language.
He gripped his arm as he felt goosebumps start to appear, but he couldn't let it show.
Not here.
Not now.
Quickly, he moved with the crowd as he sat down at the furthest seat towards the back that he could find.
Sat in between two other people, who didn't seem to acknowledge his existence, and who started to chant with the others while raising their hands.
'Good.'
He was blending in.
Once he was fully seated, he turned to focus his gaze on the centre stage, only to realise that the person who made the announcement before, wasn't actually a person.
He could see the face clearly now – yes, it had a face.
With all the beaming lights now swirling to focus the stage, he could see the ringmaster clearly — a tall, large gentlemen wearing a black top hat and fancy red tailcoat with his hair slit back.
*Ringmaster: A person who is in charge of the performances in a circus ring
His arms were covered in silk white gloves and both his feat wore polished black shoes. There were, however, details that made him seem inhumane. Such as, the fact that his shadow seemed to have a mind of its own, making odd and dramatic gestures as it towered over the crowd – and, his face. It wasn't covered in darkness like the others, rather, it looked painted.
The face of the ringmaster was painted in a pale white, eyes outlined closed by a black marker, and a painted red smile brimmed across his lips, with large reddish dots that acted as blush on each side of his cheeks.
The ringmaster smiled as he saw the crowd.
The joy of a full house, perhaps?
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that there were a lot more people here than Nico had expected. From the outside, although large, it certainly didn't look this big.
And, he didn't recall this many people entering the tent.
...or maybe he just didn't see them enter.
Something in him was begging him not to pry further.
'Just focus on the show'
He inhaled a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
It helped, a little. For awhile.
...Until the ringmaster continued his intro.
<𝄞 Oh~ My, my! It would appear that we have quite a few new faces here~>
'....new faces?'
<𝄞 Well, thats the common case with a wandering circus, am i right?>
'....oh.'
It was a joke.
'These beings can understand humor..?'
'They are more life-like than i thought.'
But it was still unsettling.
The crowd started to surge with laugher, small children could be heard giggling and adults were seen jolting their shoulders up and down to appear entertained.
'...or maybe just the ringmaster.'
If anything, the crowd seemed to be the one acting for the show, not the other way around.
Then, by lifting up his left index finger to his lips, the laughter immediately stopped.
<𝄞 Now then! Shall we begin the performance~¿>
The crowd went wild. A few started to jump up and down, while others smiled wider while cheering.
Everyone,...except me.
Listening to my survival instincts, i kept myself glued to the seat, with my head down.
'....i think i am starting to vaguely remember what story arc this was, in my novel,'
'but i just can't seem to put my finger on it.'
A circus, a ringmaster, faceless people...
'What else?'
'What was i missing?'
The cheering was now louder, but the ringmaster didn't try to quiet it down this time. Instead, he extended both his hands outward, towards the crowd.
And voiced the words,
<𝄞 Let us begin~! Enjoy the show, my dear audience~!>
Thuk! Thuk!
The lights shut off, and the stage went dark. The crowd started to silently whisper to eachother– or themeselves, as they waited for the show to start.
When the lights came back on,
Two figures appeared on stage.
Holding hands was a couple, both bowing their heads down. The one on the right was a girl wearing a ballet gown and white ballet shoes. On the left, was a fancy-looking noble boy who was wearing a classic black tuxedo.
'Ah...i think i was beginning to remember.
....what story this was...'
.
.
.
In 「Novel Arc 8」, Calistus was trying to find a way to escape from outer-worldly beings that had taken an interest in him, in that rushed escape, he ended up in a dressing room that was an extension of a performance troupe.
In that dressing room, Calistus found certain items that were identified to have properties & abilities that could be used anywhere. Including corrupted worlds and voids.
The origin of the items were unknown, but it was mentioned to look personally crafted and able to resonsate with any universal system. They all had different properties, some, more useful than others.
Either way, Calistus had entered that dressing room during a show, which made that area empty. Taking advantage of this, he took an item and left.
Later on, he found out that the performance troupe belonged to a greater unknown darkness, an unnatural phenomenon that couldn't be found anywhere without invitation.
That darkness found out, and became enraged that an item in its possession got taken without proper permission,
From then on, strange misfortunes began to befall on Calistus throughout his journey, no matter where he went, there always seemed to be a calamity hindering his path.
Which, on many cases, could have ended him, but the item he took was too useful to discard.
It was only after a few hundred chapters, did Calistus find out the name of that unusual performance troupe.
...The wandering Circus.
A lively, festive, troupe that traveled randomly across different worlds and unknown places, to perform shows that followed a narrative storyline...that was said to be inspired by forgotton stories.
[Context : Each 'story' is essentially its own 'universe' – so, the wandering circus preforms acts based on the storyline of forgotten universes.]
[When a story is 'forgotten' it means that no dimensional being, could possibly remember the 'universe' the story once existed in. It's existence is erased]
[The Wandering Circus acts as a strange peculiarity that developed and thrived on its own, with no known origins.]
.
.
.
The problem was, i had never fully developed the background story on 'the wandering circus', i had simply taken inspiration from another novel i had read that year!
..The wandering circus was just meant to be a small concept used to move the plot! Not an entire entity by itself!
On top of that, it's an entity, that i know almost nothing about?!
Nico supressed the urge not to scream under his breath.
'This is....a great start to surviving.
He sarcastically joked to himself as he frowned his eyebrows.
But atleast he managed to confirmed two things:
(1) The place he was in right now was still connected to his story, so he could find a way to get back on track with the main plot and find Calistus!
(2) The story seems to have a mind of its own.
....that 2nd fact was probably not good news for him.
'The story seems...
....to be a lot more complex than i remember...
....and i wrote it?!'
Then, a cheery tune chimed in, from somewhere amongst the shadows,
<𝄞 Dear audience! Today's act will be the long forgotten story of.....the restless ballerina~!>
Clap
Clap
Clap!
The sudden sound of enthusiastic clapping and cheering filled the entire area.
Unconsiously, Nico's hands moved on their own, and he too, started to clap.
Clap, Clap!
'I wonder what's it about...'
Like in a trace, Nico watched as the two figures on stage slowly straightened their backs, and lifted their heads.
Their eyes were blurred by a fuzzy static, but their mouths were wide in a grin.
....like everyone else.
The second they stood up straight, faces fully in view, Nico's vision blacked out.
...