13HRP – 0613 – The Cocoa Bloom looks like a normal premium chocolate bar wrapped in glossy black foil with faded carnival art. When someone partly opens the wrapper, they often hear distant carousel music, children’s laughter, and faint applause, even though no clear source exists. In addition, the chocolate gives off a very sweet smell mixed with cocoa, burnt sugar, and damp circus tents.

Effects of The Cocoa Bloom

Eating the chocolate causes no immediate symptoms. However, about thirteen minutes after the first bite, tiny spores inside the chocolate enter the bloodstream and activate.

At first, victims feel strong joy, followed by uncontrollable laughter. Then, their skin stretches in an unnatural way while patches of colour spread under it like liquid paint. As the infection grows, their limbs swell unevenly, and their faces twist into fixed, exaggerated smiles like carnival performers.

In the final stage, victims lose awareness of their surroundings. Soon after, they slowly rise several metres into the air as if they have no weight. Their bodies keep inflating until even a small shock, loud noise, or sudden emotion makes them burst.

When this happens, the victim releases a thick cloud of cocoa-scented spores along with sharp sugar fragments that can infect nearby people from the The Cocoa Bloom.

Behaviour

Victims rarely act with aggression. Instead, they wander without purpose while laughing, humming carnival tunes, or inviting others to “have a bite.”

In many cases, infected people gather in abandoned fairgrounds, sweet shops, or travelling carnival sites. Eventually, they burst in chain reactions that can infect entire crowds.

History

Stories about The Cocoa Bloom link it to travelling carnivals run by a mysterious figure known as The Cocoa Jester. Witnesses say he trades chocolate bars for laughter, memories, or parts of a person’s identity instead of money.

However, no one has confirmed a direct meeting with The Cocoa Jester. Each recovered chocolate bar appears without warning in abandoned fairgrounds, circus wagons, or empty sweet shops.

Containment Notes

Staff must keep all recovered samples sealed in airtight containment lockers.

In addition, personnel must not open the wrapper outside negative-pressure containment chambers.

Under no circumstances should staff eat, taste, or directly handle the The Cocoa Bloom for testing.

Finally, if anyone hears carnival music from a sealed sample, they must treat it as a sign of active contamination.

Last modified 2026/07/03 at 18:11 pm

Published: 2026/07/03 at 18:11 pm

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13HRP – Hollow Reality Project

CocoaBloom

By Silvia Moan