There is a dark omen that seems to plague the multiverse. A chill in the air followed by the sounds of echoing carnival music. Unsettling as it is, this alone is mostly innocent. A group of four soon follows suit, and with them a plague of sadness and strife.

This group earning the name, the troupe of nightmares. Upon their arrival a stage is set for all to see, a grand performance is put on said to bring joy to all those who see it. However, the night one sleeps after seeing the show is where the troupe gains their name. Inescapable terrors plague one's mind as they sleep, pulling out one's darkest memories from the corners of their mind. That is only the beginning.

On the second day of their arrival, the troupe continues to perform. This time something is off. Part of the crowd is missing, as is the troupe's leader, the one who calls himself Erebus. One by one more of the crowd is picked away, vanishing in only a moment of darkness. Worry grows in the souls of those who chose to stop and watch the show, but for some reason, they cannot escape. Something is holding the poor viewers of this dark show to the spot they stand in. Their own minds paralyze them out of fear. For if they were to move, would they disappear too?

The show continues on for hours, the crowd thinned considerably. Still at night, the remainder of the crowd drifts off to sleep only to be plagued by nightmares once again. The music of the cursed troupe playing endlessly through the night. Eventually dawn breaks, so begins the final day of the performance.

This time another is missing, Famis, with his shattered skull and eyelight said to see through your very being. It's odd, but the show begins anyway. A skeleton with void black sockets announces to the ever thinned crowd that this day is their last, to enjoy the grand finale of their stay. The show begins with magic in the air, sparkling knives and blasters are thrown about like a dance. Balls of fire circling around in added grandeur. Black and teal orbs adding to the enchanting effect. The performers providing music on violin, dancing along with the weapons with grace.

Suddenly, just as quickly as they arrive they are gone. Any trace of them left to the wind.

Unexpectedly as the troupe left, it was a surprisingly normal act that the skeletons put on. Still something is missing, though it's hard to place just what it is. In the evening what's gone becomes apparent. Any trace of food is gone. Near nothing is left, if lucky there might be enough scattered about to last another day or two. By this point it's easier just to sleep, ignore the newfound famine. Unfortunately the nightmares continue, this time for what seems like weeks. Draining any amount of energy from the afflicted that they may have had. At the very least, the ones taken have been returned. Any light that may have been in the eyes of those taken, gone.

Farm land is soon discovered to be infertile, the last hope of remedying the situation gone. Negativity flowing in waves through the town afflicted, seemingly completing the goal of the troupe of nightmares. At least until it is time for them to perform again.