"Alright folks! What's gonna be in store for this man? First, let's give our contestant a quick recap of how this all works!" Static said, a diagram magically appearing beside him.
"As you all know, I could quite leave my fans behind, so I developed and trained an ability called Circus of Cheer!" Static summoned a magic stick, pointing to a drawing akin to a wormhole.
"As you all know, The Dead Worlds and the Living Worlds are all connected through tiny pockets of space that are perhaps infinite distances." Static dragged the stick across the diagram.
"I rip open this space, allowing those from the living and dead worlds that wish to attend my shows to attend! Over 350 people are randomly teleported here, while others can enter!" Static grinned.
"So far, it's only you spirits, since no living person knows of my shows!" Static said, giggling.
"Lastly, you get here through the magical door, as this is a technical pocket dimension! Since it bridges the two worlds! Anyway, on with our show!" Static said happily.
He pointed the stick at Kalis. "As you can see, our dear contestant Kalis chose The Fool card. You know what that means!"
The crowd chanted, "Entertain us!"
"You heard them! I'll put you through various challenges, and we'll watch the ratings. The crowd LOVES authenticity." Static's voice distorted once more as he grabbed Kalis by the shoulder.
"Should the crowd NOT be entertained by you, however, they get to select a fitting punishment." Static said, chuckling.
"Other than that, you may use any means necessary to entertain them. Ya ready?" Static then tapped his chin.
"Ah, who am I kidding? Everyone, get up here!" The rest of the bandits were teleported up, confused and nervous looks on their faces.
Suddenly, everything went black. They were on a long, dirt road surrounded by forest, equipped with only a few weapons, such as swords and daggers.
Static appeared before them under a dramatic spotlight. "The crowd is watching, the creature is hungry, and the stage is set. Get ready! Go!" Static disappeared.
The bandits were left with there own devices, a loud roar being heard in the distance. They all began to run down the dirt path.
"That kid's a psycho!" Kalis said, running as fast as his legs could take him. The other bandits seemed to agree, only running faster as the roads got louder.
"Think we can fight this thing?!" One of them asked, the fear in his voice being palpable.
"We don't know until we try!" Kalis said.
One of the bandits was on the verge of tears. "I don't wanna die, man!"
They stopped to take a break, and the roses got quieter.
"You think it's retreating?" One of them asked, but nobody responded for a moment as they were catching their breath.
Static sat on a stage, the ratings going at an all-time high. "The show must go on. Contestants, cast your votes now. Think they'll run more, or fight?"
The bandits were about to get a move on... Until a twig snapped.
One of them immediately swung their dagger at the sound, fearing for their life.
But what connected to it wasn't a monster; it was one of their own, holding his throat as he fell to the ground.
He choked on his own blood before going limp.
The man dropped his dagger and turned around, his comrades not noticing. "Guys, we should-"
He was suddenly impaled by long, sharp claws as a creature raised him into the air. He coughed blood and tried to scream, but it was cut off by a sickening crunch.
"Oooh! That's two down, folks! Karma comes back in many forms, doesn't it?" He said, giggling as he looked at his wonderful pet.
The creature that had eaten the man stood at 10 feet tall, having lanky limbs yet adorned with slick fur. It had a red glow in it's skeletal sockets and had antlers coming from both sides of its head.
"Ah, a wonderful pet, a wendigo." Static said, a cruel grin on his face. "No mercy for the evil!"
The crowd cheered as some of the bandits began to run, but the Wendigo moved in a swiftness that belied its size.
It swiftly dispatched the rest, purposefully ignoring Kalis.
All he heard were the sickening crunches of bones breaking, the tearing of flesh, and the screams of his friends. Once all had stopped, Kalis was left alone, the red glow from the Wendigo being the only thing in view.
Static watched as Kalis drew his sword, a mix of fear and anger in the man's eyes being evident.
The crowd cheered. "Wow man! Ratings are going through the roof right now!"
Kalis narrowed his eyes and narrowly avoided the claws swiping at him.
When he saw the other claw swing, he managed to barely parry it, but he retaliated with a swing of his own, cutting the creature.
Just when he had a glimmer of hope in his eyes, the Wendigo leaned forward, it's maw wide open, before snapping it shut onto Kalis.
"Oooo!" The crowd said in unison as they watched the gruesome display.
Once it went quiet, the dense, dark forest shifted back into the cheerful circus. "Awh! Too bad it was so short friends! That's it for today's show..!" Static waved.
The crowd clapped, clearly satisfied with the show. Static's ability soon ended, ending back up in the room.
He looked around, the kidnapped victim gone. "Wait! Where did he go?!"
Suddenly, Static was stabbed in the chest, causing him to spit blood from his mouth.
"What..?" He turned around, seeing the metal rod of a trident sticking right through him, a woman with black hair that reached the middle of her back standing there.
"Looks like I caught the culprit." She said, grinning as she swung the Trident, throwing Static into a wall.
When he collided with the wall, the wind had been knocking out of him.
"Kid, I'll take over." Reyuma said, but Static resisted the takeover.
"No..." Static giggled a bit, secretly sending out a crow to alert Kyr, the faked passing out.
The woman spoke into the air, "No, I haven't seen the kid before. Bring him to you? Alright."
She then looked at Static. "Already out? I mean, you do seem like a kid. It's fine though; you get to meet my dad!"
Meanwhile, Kyr had cleared out his section, sitting on some dead bodies as he cut the ropes binding one of the officials. "Don't worry, bud! I'm here to help you out!"
He felt something land on his shoulder, a crow whispering something in his ear. It told Kyr to leave and that Static has been compromised.
"Ah, seriously!" Kyr said, groaning a little as he stood up. "Alright! Change of plans, you're coming with me, and you're gonna tell Mono what happened!"
The man nodded as the two sneakily evaded capture, Kyr's stealth being quite evident.
Once he arrived, everyone had a look of confusion on their faces.
"Where's Static?" Fox asked, tilting her head.
"He's been captured. I got too caught up in the moment." Kyr said, everyone gasping.
"Well, we gotta get him back!" Mareth said, Mono stepping in.
"I agree... They have stepped far beyond their boundaries. The Lunar Empire must prepare to face our wrath."
"Why not get Static back first?" Mara asked, everyone contemplating the plan.
Back to Static, he was brought down a dark hallway, but the ground felt soft. As he looked up, the room was dark; only lanterns that had a white glow coming from them illuminated the place.
There were windows, but there was an eerie moonlight. "Wait, wasn't it daytime?" Static asked, the woman giggling as she rubbed his head.
"Shh, you're in the presence of Father." She said, a man sitting on a throne under the stars.
He had a crown akin to a halo that was black and white in color, and Static couldn't discern his facial features in the darkness. Only a pair of glowing silver eyes in the dark.