The silent ranks of Partygoers surged forward in perfect formation, claws extended, grins frozen in anticipation. Daniel Voss stepped into the first strike, pipe sweeping in a wide arc that caught three Crawlers mid-leap. Vannia moved like liquid silver, her Echo of the Lost passive flaring bright as she carved through a Tall variant's knee analog. The chamber echoed with the wet impacts of metal and blade meeting plastic flesh.
Partygoer 0 did not join the fray.
It simply raised the antique microphone to its lips and spoke a single, cheerful command:
"Let the celebration begin."
The overhead lights exploded into a riot of multicolored strobes—pink, cyan, gold—pulsing in time with an invisible beat. The ceiling panels groaned, then split open along invisible seams. From the darkness above, thousands of balloons began to fall.
Not a gentle drift.
A downpour.
Shiny red, glossy blue, metallic silver—every color of forced joy—rained in a thick, relentless curtain. They bounced off the cracked tiles with wet pops, piled against the walls, and rolled underfoot. Some burst on impact, releasing clouds of glittering confetti that clung to skin and weapons like static. Others floated lazily, tethered by thin, invisible strings that swayed in time with the strobing lights.
The interface flashed urgent gold warnings:
```
[Environmental Anomaly Activated: Balloon Rain – Party Protocol Alpha]
Effect: Reduced visibility (62%)
Terrain hazard increased – footing unstable
Hidden vectors detected within 23% of balloons
Chosen Synergy Multiplier: +18% (shared between 0007 & 0008)
```
Daniel crushed a silver balloon under his heel. It popped, releasing a burst of sweet-smelling gas that made his vision swim for half a second before Pestilence Type 2 burned it away. Vannia sliced two red balloons in mid-air; black ichor sprayed instead of helium.
"They're not decorations," she snapped.
Partygoer 0 laughed softly into the microphone, the sound amplified until it filled the entire station.
"Of course not. Every balloon is a friend waiting to be born. Pop one… and a new partygoer joins the dance."
A cluster of balloons directly above Daniel swelled and split open like overripe fruit. From within dropped a fresh Mimic variant—fully formed, already giggling. It lunged. Daniel met it with a rising thrust; the pipe's fractal etchings flared, Pestilence corroding the newborn entity before it could fully manifest.
Vannia rolled under a wave of falling blue balloons, knife flashing upward. Three burst at once, releasing Crawler hatchlings that skittered across the floor. Her silver shimmer intensified; Echo of the Lost pushed her speed to inhuman levels as she cut them down before they could swarm.
The rain thickened.
Balloons now fell in sheets, bouncing and rebounding until the floor was a shifting sea of rubber and string. Visibility dropped to arm's length. The strobing lights turned the chamber into a disorienting kaleidoscope of color and shadow. Partygoers moved through the downpour like ghosts, their smiles flashing in the bursts of light.
Partygoer 0's voice drifted above the chaos, calm and delighted.
"See? No one is ever alone. Every pop, every burst, every new smile—part of the everlasting party. You cannot stop joy when it falls from the sky itself."
Daniel activated Blight Aura at full radius. Violet haze clashed with the multicolored rain, turning falling balloons black and shriveled mid-air. A dozen burst at once, releasing half-formed entities that dissolved before they hit the ground.
Vannia pressed her back to his. "We push toward the transition node. He's buying time with spectacle."
Daniel nodded once, pipe already moving in a continuous defensive orbit.
The balloon rain intensified, now mixed with falling streamers and the faint, distant sound of distorted party music echoing from the vents.
The chamber had become a true arena.
And the First Party Creator stood at its center, microphone raised like a conductor's baton, watching two Chosen fight against an endless, smiling sky.
The everlasting party had found its stage.
And it was only getting started.