Pinocchio's delusional reality was on the brink of collapse! He became convinced that a macabre ceremony, one that mirrored Geppetto's dark legacy, was the key to solidifying his new identity as a hitman and the younger of a living puppet duo. He saw it as a necessary step to validate his existence, to prove to himself and the world that he was a true master of the shadows!
With Geppo Morto by his side, Pinocchio began to orchestrate the private event. The ceremony would be a twisted celebration of his graduation into the hitman role, a sinister identity that he had embraced with open arms of acaciawood.
As the day of the ceremony approached, Pinocchio's excitement grew. He saw it as an opportunity to showcase his skills, to demonstrate his worth to the darkness that had consumed him. Geppo Morto's silent presence seemed to egg him on, fueling his delusions and reinforcing his unstable sense of self.
Starting the event, Pinocchio's nightmare powers coursed through the proscenium theater, further clouding the already-demented minds of an old man and his wife taken captive. Once vacant, their glaucous eyes now seemed to hold a terrible purpose as they turned on each other! The air grew heavy with the stench of blood and madness as they maimed each other, their screams, shouts, and even blows reverberating until they lay still as corpses staining the stage!
The boy-puppet's eyes gleamed with an unnatural intensity as he moved on to the next phase of the ritual. He released nine feral alley cats into the auditorium, their eyes agleam with panicked rage! His artificial hands trembled with anticipation as he prepared to face them! He was about to dangerously test his power over silence and his martial arts skills honed by Geppetto's teachings!
Prowling the shadows, the cats fixed their eyes on Pinocchio as he stood alone on the apron. With a silent cry, he launched himself at them! Keeping things organic, he fought only with his hardwood body and melee weapons carved from oak. Keeping things fair, he fought without armor (such as the oaken set generated and worn by Geppetto prior).
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The felines fought back, their claws and saliva-slick teeth all the more lethal in the dim light, but Pinocchio's subterfuge and martial skills proved superior! He reveled in their near inability to detect him as, one by one, he killed and skinned them! As he donned the largest pelt, Pinocchio stood victorious–and panting, his severely scratched acacia chest heaving with exertion (and some pain) but not bleeding!
His eyes locked onto Geppo Morto, the undead puppet's silent presence a reminder of their world of delusion, menace, and violence born from prolonged tragedy and escalating sin. The ceremony was almost finished, and Pinocchio knew he would soon be reborn as a “true hitman.”
Pinocchio's heart raced as he approached a comparably large cage, his eyes locking onto a beast’s piercing gaze! With a swift motion of a hooked cane, he opened the cage, and the vixen sprang out, its fur bristling as it began to urinate defensively!
Pinocchio's nose smelled nothing, but his nightmare powers surged. Via a glamour, he became Lady Kayo, the First Kitsune–but warped and corrupted, a zombie-like fox creature with glowing red eyes! The very real (and confused and disgusted) vixen's own eyes soon got wider, her mind rapidly melted by eldritch horrors the puppet meticulously imparted. She screamed, convulsed, stumbled, and urinated more as she tried to escape the horrors she hallucinated. She even bit herself–drawing pints of blood–as if trying to vie for control of her body and her reality! Finally, her heart gave out, and she fell like a toppled fir tree!
His oaken fingers dripping with fox blood, the puppet (once an innocent, human teenager) solemnly kneeled between his latest kill and the apron's edge. Bowing his head in fealty, charcoal eyes downcast, he signed a dark supplication to his audience of one. It was time for his mentor's review!
Geppo Morto's wooden face remained impassive, but its eyes seemed agleam with approval! It responded with a series of swift, intricate signs, its wooden fingers weaving a dark benediction! Pinocchio's eyes lit up with joy as he grasped the meaning of Geppo Morto's signs: he’d been declared a true hitman, his sacrificial ceremony deemed adequate!
With a rapturous smile hidden by his permanent muzzle, Pinocchio signed his gratitude. Geppo Morto's silence was its only response… until it reverently ripped off Pinocchio's right pinky finger using its (Pinocchio’s) power over wood!