Luigi Von Vortex's Arc

Chapter 2 of 5

Luigi walked back to his office along the worn dirt pathway, the amber lanterns casting his shadow long and crooked against the ground. The hourglass swung at his side, its black sand settled now that the deadline had passed. He had tested something tonight. Not just whether the woman would sign, but whether someone desperate enough to seek the circus could also be sharp enough to inherit it. The answer disappointed him more than he expected. She had read the contract and seen only what she wanted to see. A successor needed to read it and understand what it truly was. He set the hourglass on his desk and opened the glowing tome. Her signature pulsed on the page, already beginning to sink deeper into the binding. Within a week, maybe two, the first gaps would appear in her memories. She would forget small things at first. A birthday. A favorite song. Then larger pieces would follow. Luigi had watched this pattern hundreds of times. He knew exactly how she would hollow out. But knowing the outcome made it predictable, and predictable made it tedious. He wanted someone who would see the trap and spring it anyway, someone who understood the price and paid it with their eyes open. Luigi closed the tome and looked at the ornate mirror in the corner. His reflection blurred at the edges as always, more suggestion than solid form. He had been collecting souls for so long that his own had become theoretical. A successor would need to possess what he had lost. Enough humanity to lure the desperate in. Enough cruelty to enjoy watching them break. The woman tonight had the first quality but lacked the second entirely. She would make a fine addition to the freak show. But she would never be able to run it. He pulled a fresh contract from his drawer and began to write. This time he made the terms slightly more visible, the trap a fraction easier to spot. Not obvious enough to scare away the desperate, but clear enough that someone clever might pause. Someone who paused might ask questions. Someone who asked questions might be worth培养. Luigi dipped his pen and smiled. The next contract would be better bait. And if it took a hundred more signatures before he found the right person, well. The circus had time. He had collected nothing if not that.