Tyler and the others were suddenly engulfed in a shimring, painted haze—like ink dropped into water, spreading tendrils of color in every direction.
It was Dr. Juggler’s Domain.
The world around them twisted. The forest faded into a strange dreamscape. Trees shimred as if made of brushstrokes, swaying like dancers in a surreal painting. The lake behind the tent bubbled with unnatural colors, its surface reflecting nothing of the real world. Sowhere in the distance, a broken calliope wheezed out a haunting tune—off-key, whimsical, and deeply unsettling.
From the center of the illusion, a giant pinwheel erged, its rainbow-colored blades spinning lazily at first. Standing on top of it was Dr. Juggler, arms stretched wide like a perforr on stage.
"Play in my Domain—Dream Carnival," he whispered, almost reverently.
"What a nice na," Tyler said, clearly impressed by his naming sense.
"What a la na." Su Fei said. She was unimpressed, her tone laced with sarcasm. She was not near Tyler.
A mist of colorful gases began to spread across the forest. Wherever it touched, life withered—trees shriveling, grass curling, flowers turning to dust. The toxic beauty was srizing and deadly.
Tyler turned quickly, but the others had vanished from sight.
"Lily? Mathilda? Mana? Darla? Su Fei?" he called out, but no one responded.
Elsewhere in the dreamscape:
Su Fei lounged atop a red shrine, legs crossed, looking bored as her tails flicked lazily in the air. "This is just like those low-budget circus, But atleast i don’t have to fight." she murmured.
Darla had sohow hidden inside a giant cooking pot, the lid slightly ajar as she peeked out cautiously. The pot was sealed tight enough to keep the poisonous gas at bay, and she muttered about needing better air filters next ti.
Lily stood tall amidst the gas, lightning crackling around her. The poisonous mist dared not co near—every particle that approached was instantly incinerated by her electric field.
Mana was nowhere to be seen—vanished without a trace.
Mathilda, ever the bold one, marched straight toward Dr. Juggler’s tent. The poison mist swirled around her but did nothing to her. She didn’t even flinch.
Tyler clenched his fists. "Rain," he muttered, activating his own Domain.
Dark clouds swirled above, summoned from thin air. Raindrops fell heavily, drenching the forest. As they struck the poisonous mist, the gases hissed and dispersed. The air began to clear. Droplets washed away the illusion’s rot and made the dreamscape shimr with broken reality.
With a leap, Tyler sprang onto the base of the giant pinwheel and started climbing. Each blade spun slowly beneath his feet like giant leaves, slick with condensation. He jumped from one to the next, using bursts of wind to lift himself higher.
As he reached the top, the pinwheel suddenly whirred to life, spinning violently.
"Whoa—" Tyler was thrown from its surface as if flung by a catapult. The wind scread in his ears as the world flipped upside down.
Boom!
Before he could crash into the ground, he activated Mode: Dragon. A surge of red energy rippled through his body. Scales spread like armor across his skin, glowing faintly as they hardened. He attempted to fly away —but he hit the ground face-first anyway.
"Ugh," Tyler groaned, pushing himself up. "Still working on the landing..."
He floated upward, eyes locked on the now-rampaging pinwheel. Dr. Juggler had disappeared. The eerie music continued to play, echoing faintly across the distorted forest.
Suddenly, the pinwheel spun with a shrill whine and took flight like a monstrous blade, its rainbow edge gleaming with lethal intent. It shot directly at Tyler.
"Not today," Tyler growled, diving to the side.
Boom!
The massive wheel sliced into the ground where he’d stood, carving a long, jagged trench through the painted land.
anwhile, Su Fei had gathered the others atop her red shrine. The shrine hovered midair, untouched by the illusion’s decay. From their high vantage point, the girls watched the battlefield unfold.
"All present except Mathilda," Darla reported, peeking out of her pot.
"She’ll be fine," Lily said, arms crossed. "She’s probably looting his laboratory."
"I wish I brought popcorn," Su Fei added, swinging her legs.
Below, Tyler ran left. The pinwheel followed like a spinning predator, digging into the earth with every turn. When he shifted direction and ran right, the giant wheel twisted sharply to pursue, gouging more trenches into the ground.
The girls’ heads turned in unison, following him like an audience at a tennis match.
"He doesn’t want to use his other domain," Lily remarked, her eyes following Tyler’s movents.
"Think he’ll break it?" Darla asked curiously.
"His other domain isn’t even complete," Su Fei replied with a smirk. "But he managed to fight with it. If he activates his chessboard, he could escape any enemy domain instantly."
anwhile, Tyler slid to a halt behind a jagged rock formation just as the spinning pinwheel crashed into it, sending shards of painted stone flying in every direction.
From the swirling shadows of the distorted Dream Carnival, Dr. Juggler’s voice echoed like a dissonant lody through the illusion-painted forest.
"Isn’t it fun?" he called, his voice layered with mischief. "How about surrendering in the next two minutes? Otherwise, I might just drown you in Potions of Poison."
Tyler stood alert amid the neon-hued trees, their bark gleaming like wet paint under the moonlight. His eyes scanned the dreamlike surroundings, sharp and calculating.
"Co out and fight , clown," he growled, voice cutting through the warped air like a blade.
"Clown?" the voice giggled from everywhere and nowhere. "Oh no, no, no. My Captain is the clown. I’m rely a humble scientist of joy. A doctor of chaos. A curator of the absurd." A dramatic pause. "Also, certified alchemist, if you must know. But you may call ... Dr. Juggler."
Tyler rolled his eyes, irritation flickering behind them. "You’ve taken a hostage. Why are you even hiding? Stop hiding and show yourself."
From above, the giant pinwheel twisted sharply mid-air, screeching like warped tal. It dove like a guillotine, aiming directly at him.
Tyler reacted in an instant. He leapt upward, twisting midair with supernatural grace. He landed a swift kick against the edge of the spinning blade, using it as a launchpad to propel himself higher. As he soared, icy spirals curled around him—conjured from his Prana—crackling in the moonlight like a frozen tempest.
"I’ve had enough of your gas!" he shouted, his voice booming through the surreal forest.
He unleashed a volley of ice spheres, hurling them directly at the pinwheel. The glowing forest fell silent as the projectiles struck.
"Hahaha... Nothing is going to—"
Dr. Juggler’s voice cut off mid-laugh.
The massive pinwheel creaked, then froze solid, trapped in a prison of shimring, translucent ice. The wind howled as the object hovered, encased and immobile.
"...That was unexpected," Dr. Juggler muttered.
Tyler landed gracefully, brushing frost from his sleeves. "Pull yourself together and co out, co out, wherever you are." His voice had turned cold, almost mocking. "Unless... you want to assu the girl you captured is already dead. Then we can only leave. FYI we just t Alna yesterday."
There was silence for a mont. Then, from behind the frozen pinwheel, a pale, gloved hand erged. It held a small, glowing crystal orb.
Inside, Alna lay unconscious, curled up as if asleep. Her face looked peaceful, though slightly pale.
"This is the last ti I show this," Dr. Juggler’s voice warned. "Look, she’s fine. Happy dreams and all that."
But before he could make another move, the crystal orb in his hand vanished instantly.
"Eh?" Dr. Juggler gasped. "Where did—?"
Tyler stood calmly, twirling a small copper ladle and the crystal ball before storing them away in his pocket dinsion.
"How did you...?" Dr. Juggler’s voice was no longer amused. Irritation bled into his tone, laced with genuine curiosity.
Tyler said nothing.
Instead, he stepped toward the frozen wheel, scanning for signs of the maniacal scientist. But there was no one there.
Suddenly, a strange noise echoed behind him—a soft squeak, like a wheel on broken pavent.
A unicycle rolled into view, and riding atop it was a grotesque humanoid figure. Its entire body was made of shifting, colorful paint. It juggled spheres of vibrant watercolors, each dripping like molten wax.
Tyler’s eyes narrowed.
Every ti a drop of the painted fluid hit the ground, the earth beneath hissed and lted like acid.
Before Tyler could react, the painted figure lunged forward, the unicycle gaining unnatural speed.
It crashed into him with a sloshing thud.
"Chariot!" Tyler shouted.
A shimring pattern flared beneath his feet—a luminous chessboard ford of Red and White tiles.
In a blink, Tyler shifted sideways on the grid, moving horizontally in an instant to avoid the impact entirely. Just like a Chariot piece (Rook) in a chess ga.
The painted figure slamd into a tree, which burst into a kaleidoscope of colors before lting into the ground and vanishing entirely.
But then—without warning—it reappeared, intact and unhard.
"Teleportation? No... this is sothing else," Dr. Juggler muttered, visibly confused.
"It’s back again," Su Fei said with a frown, narrowing her eyes. "That annoying little trick."
Suddenly, more entities erged—each riding a unicycle, each made of the sa swirling, colorful paint. One, then three, then a dozen. The carnival was coming alive with chaos.
Tyler’s eyes widened as he took a step back. He watched the painted figures encircle him with growing dread.
He swallowed hard, "Oh I am dead."
User Comments
0 comments from readers