Clock had been eliminated.
He had made peace with the fact that that outcome was pretty much inevitable a long time ago, ever since his first attempt to get into the Battle for Dream Island. His odds already weren't looking fantastic from the very start; he was joining right in the middle of the competition. In the *extremely* unlikely event that the viewers that had absolutely no clue who he was (he'd only been give *seconds* to introduce himself, to make his case), he'd be up against well-established, well-known characters that knew all the ins and outs of the competition *far* better than he ever could. When he inevitably got thrown into the Locker of Losers for his efforts, he was quick to calm down and accept his fate. His complete and total failure to court the viewers a second time further reinforced that feeling of... *Ugh*.
Sure, he did get his day in the spotlight *eventually*; due to a series of rather strange events, the eliminated contestants wound up being the hosts of the following season for a short stretch of time. Sure, it was bound to be a relatively minor chapter in the history books. Sure, he had to share that brief time to shine with... like, *dozens* of others. But that was more than enough for him, at the very least. Even getting just a second of time where the cameras pointed in his general direction was *fine*. It was far more attention than he ever thought he'd get out here, anyway. That time would eventually pass, like all things did, and he'd be back to just... *existing*. Persisting in this cramped metal box. Not doing anything other than keeping track of the seconds, the minutes, the hours, the *days*.
By the time he was finally let out (and it took *ages* for them to get to him), the competition was already long over. There was no longer a big prize up for grabs, no motivation to keep him pushing to be stronger, to be *better*. Besides the constant rabble about who was gonna be liberated from that metal prison, they were just... back to the tedium of existence. Back to living regular, ordinary lives. The opportunity to be *somebody* had passed, and Clock wasn't able to seize it. And not just because he didn't have any arms. He accepted that, and he'd move on. That was that. It's over.
Then *another* host suddenly fell out of the sky.
Out of nowhere, yet *another* season of the Battle for Dream Island would begin. This time around, he'd actually be in it from the start, now being on roughly the same playing field as everyone else. They were just as new and inexperienced to the machinations of the algebralians, not knowing what sets them off, what they'll pull next. And he was put in a team of well-known, highly reputable figures too! And Needle. This time around, he wasn't gonna get shot down immediately, have his dreams crushed and flattened by careless, soulless people. He actually had a *chance*.
Then he died, and nobody bothered to ask about him. For *ages*. *Nobody*.
After that, it was just a long, drawn-out, *painful* tumble down the proverbial stairs. He was finally revived, and *immediately* the news is dropped that a whole bunch of episodes had gone by without him. Not a single modicum of awareness or worry was given to him in that entire time, and he was only brought back as a *surprise*. Great. *Wonderful*. Then the competition was immediately upended after he was brought back, and he (along with several others) made the switch to yet *another* show. Not only would he be forced to start over with a *new* set of 'teammates', but he also couldn't tie any loose ends with his old 'allies', since they were in the middle of doing much the same thing. Then there was the whole thing with Winner, and... he just didn't want to think about *that*. Ever.
He was beaten. He was battered. He was bruised. He was broken. Well, not literally. He'd already accepted it long ago, but by now he had well and truly resigned to his fate. The Battle for Dream Island clearly wasn't meant to be his big break. It focused on someone else's stories. Getting eliminated was just a formality at this point; he might've panicked and fretted after getting the news, but that was because he was still in that Winner-induced stupor. Deep down, in his heart, he knew that this was how his story was gonna end. It was all one big joke, and his pathetic existence was the punchline.
