The Sinful Circus

Prologue

The Bloodied Curtains Open

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Queens, kings and their children as well as those who sit somewhere in between. I, Asher Rose, welcome each and everyone of you to our grand performance. A once in a lifetime opportunity to gaze upon the magnificence of the unknown and the magical!"

Bellows out a hearty and excited voice, a ringleader introducing his greatest pride and joy in the entire universe. An act, a performance that is nothing short of a spectacle. Lights, flares, fire, flying confetti everywhere. An acrobat here and a knife thrower there, a great flame soaring through the colourful arena as the laughs, gasps and claps of the audience fuel the scorching the flames.

The curtains behind all the performers are closed, their rich yet bright blue colour hiding the backstage from prying eyes. The lights are dim yet so blinding it should be impossible to ignore the smiling crew as they appear and disappear, knives glimmer as they get chucked at their targets, the tight rope walkers smirk down at the amazed crowd below, the atmosphere is more than lively. It's vivacious, exuberant and so much more than the mortal mind should ever imagine yet experiences nonetheless to appease the insatiable desire of those who ogle at the skill and joyful professionalism of the performers for their own entertainment, their delight.

But it is not like the performers mind, their grins do not seem to show such deceit. They seem to take about as much pleasure in the majestic and coruscating art of their own actions, drowning in bliss as more and more begins to happen. Magicians with their black suits, carefully embroidered tail coat in the finest crimson in the land. Their gloves ranging from white to black and every single shade in between, seemingly building up to the true prowess that will be final act. Even the ringleader himself seems to be in awe at his own troupe, his smile widening as his pearly teeth shine shamelessly. The crowd's screams and pleas for more and more are deafening yet so irresistible to the ears of those who themselves can't help but beg hungrily for their audience's praise.

Through the roaring applaud, Asher begins to speak. His words loud and euphoric his smile alone shines brighter than any twenty-four karat jewel the bourgeoise could wish to bear upon their prideful silhouettes.

"My dear audience, my merry friends who have joined us tonight and have feasted upon our hard work and skills, I am ever so grateful to know my lovely troupe has appeased your ever so greedy souls. I am thankful for the generous tips you have all given to us, so it would be my pleasure to give you one last spectacular performance. The finest yours eyes will ever see!"

He speaks without hesitation, not a single drop as he claps his hands loudly, everyone in the room becoming dead silent. The lights brighten until it is just as it was before the show, the same same can't be said about the eyes of the people who sit in their seats even as their bear their joyful smiles. A crimson confetti adorns the blue curtain as sharp cards scatter beneath the feet of the audience, the red liquid trickling down the the highest 'thrones' like a small yet thick waterfall of death. One head there, one arm flung across the room, another hanging from the balcony seat but this isn't what the ringleader's troupe wishes to see as much as he seems to giggle like an excited little boy at such scenery. Their eyes don't shine at the carnage which was forged by their smooth and silken hands, their fingertips dig into their chests. Searching.

And their search is not for nothing, a half smoke - half liquid substances emerges from each and every person that they go through before being contained in beautifully intricate jars before this liquid-gas substances begins to cry out in joy and pain at the same time, slowly morphing into shapes resembling a human being. An animal. Anything that a mortal can comprehend. The performance feel butterflies in their chest, a warm blanket engulfing their figures as they smile as sinisterly as their leader.

The curtains open gracefully to reveal a figure hanging on aerial silks, her body wrapped up like some divine goddess as she opens her blue eyes. Sclera as black as the void that haunts every sinner's heart, her body twists and shifts to hang upside down. Something like a bat as she smiles at Asher, his large troupe entering the backstage from the opened curtain. The ringleader however is staring at the dead bodies of every single dead member of the audience with the sardonic grins before the man speaks his last words with one final but deep bow.

"Thank you, truly, for attending your perfect end. The sinful circus has been more than delighted to have appeased your horrendous souls. Until next time, my dearies~"

And with that, he himself walks backwards to get just behind the tainted blue curtain. The blinding lights of arena fade into a cold nothingness, the only glow of a snake's charm being that of the woman hanging from the aerial silks as the curtains slowly close on her body. Her cat like smile engrained into the minds of any lowly spirit who was foolish enough to stay amidst the joyous cries of the mortals which died down as instantly as their unpredictable futures.