Rin fell. He had expected pain.
After all, he had just fallen through a mysterious hole that had suddenly appeared beneath his feet. Anyone would have expected to hit the ground hard enough to regret every decision that had led them there.
But instead—
Plop.
Rin landed on something soft.
He blinked several times, trying to understand what had happened. The darkness around him was almost absolute. He reached down and touched the ground beneath him, trying to figure out what he had landed on.
Grass? Or maybe forest moss?
Then another sensation reached him. A strange smell.
"What is this smell…?" Rin muttered.
He slowly pushed himself to his feet and looked around. Nothing.
The darkness swallowed everything. Above him, the circus arena was completely out of sight.
Rin took a cautious step forward. Then another. He followed the strange scent, walking carefully through the darkness for several minutes.
And then—
