Y/n's pov
“So, Caine, we havin' a new adventure today for the newbie, or what?” Jax said, casually glancing at the floating denture. He looked almost bored as he spoke, leaning back like he’d seen this routine far too many times. Caine—the denture—ignored him, instead floating closer to me, though he still hovered a solid meter above the ground. I guess I was taller than him, which was strange to think, considering this... thing was the one in charge.
Caine’s voice boomed with enthusiasm. “I’m going to give our new member a grand tour of the circus grounds!” And before I could react, he grabbed my arm, and we were off. What followed was a blur. He zipped through the area at an impossible speed, dragging me along. Every corner, every tent, every absurdly decorated building flew by in a rush of colors and shapes, way too fast for me to process anything. By the time we returned, my head was spinning so badly I had to shake it to try and steady myself.
“Well, what is your name, new character?” Caine asked, floating in front of me with a wide, expectant grin.
I opened my mouth to answer, but—nothing. “Uh… my name is—uhhhhhh…” I stammered, feeling a strange blankness in my mind. “I... don’t remember?” How was that possible?
Caine nodded, completely unbothered. “No one remembers their name once they enter The Amazing Digital Circus! One of the few things I don’t control are your minds. But—”
I cut him off, feeling a surge of frustration. “Then why did you ask for my name if no one can remember?” My arms crossed instinctively, annoyance rising.
“Well,” Caine’s grin widened, as though amused by my frustration, “it’s funny to see people struggle to remember something they can’t.”
I raised an eyebrow. “It’s not.”
“Anyway!” Caine clapped his hands, floating even higher now. “Your new name can be anything!” His voice sped up suddenly, like someone had hit fast-forward on a remote control. “...chosen name...Digital Circus...license agreement...may not... content...includes...limited...materials...violent....” I caught random bits of his rambling, none of it making sense.
“Uh, that was a bit too fast for m—”
Before I could finish, Caine interrupted again, “Let’s see what your new name could be!” A huge spinning contraption appeared out of nowhere, looking like one of those slot machines that shuffled random letters instead of numbers. Caine pressed a button, and the letters spun into a jumbled mess before landing on AHJHKPLH.
“What do you think of ‘Ahjhkplh’?” he asked, beaming.
I stared at the gibberish. “Uh—That’s not—”
“You’re right, that’s terrible! Let’s try again.” Caine didn’t wait for my response, spinning the machine once more. This time, the letter B appeared, only for the four following ones to be instantly censored with a loud beep.
I didn’t need to see the rest to guess what it was supposed to spell, but I didn't wanna be named 'Bitch'. “Oh, no, now even the name machine is starting to be inappropriate,” Caine said, shaking his head in disappointment. “Let’s try one more time.”
The machine spun again, and this time, the letters Y/N appeared.
“What do you think of y/n?” Caine asked in his usual joyful voice, as though this random combination of letters was somehow the most brilliant name in existence.
“Y/n? Y/n…” I repeated, rolling the name around in my head. “I guess? Sure…”
“Wonderful!” Caine clapped his hands. “And no, Jax, no adventure today because of what happened with Pomni last time. I prefer our new member, y/n, gets to know the rest of you and the grounds first, before any big adventures!”
Jax crossed his arms and let out an exasperated sigh. “I said that like, ten minutes ago. You’ve gotta stop doin’ that,” he muttered under his breath.
Ignoring him, Caine continued, “Anyway, I’m going to head out now. Goodbye, and have fun!” With a dramatic flourish, he vanished, leaving behind only a faint shimmer in the air.
As soon as he disappeared, Jax turned to me, his smirk as irritating as ever. “Well, y/n, guess you’re stuck with us now. Better start getting used to the circus life.”
