"I'll be cutting my assistant!..." He continues without acknowledging your protests against what madness he might mean to an invisible audience, before said protests die abruptly as he continues. "-Some slack, and letting him go!"
You blinked at the sight of the front of your cage suddenly disintegrating into smoke and Mephistopheles smirking while beckoning you out. Speechless you exit the stage half-expecting the Magician to play some other sudden trick like this was some kind of strange bait & switch, but none to happen as you stare at the Magician who gives back a raised eyebrow. "... What was that about?" You asked bewildered.
"Well you didn't seem very enthusiastic and I've already done plenty of tricks on unwilling volunteers that I wanted to try out just, letting you go." The magician gave a small smirk and shrug.
"... Huh?" You replied dumbly.
"You didn't think you were the only stray human to stumble into this place were you?" He began. "I've played thousands of tricks on and for millions of similarly lost souls before! It's what makes Mephistopheles, Me! And I've recently thought, 'why not let one just go?' And that's why this!" He explained with a wide smile
"So... I can just, leave now?" You asked, just to clarify.
"Thats what i said." He nodded sagely and you began walking walking off stage to leave the tent, pausing midway to look back at the Magician who just made a shooing motion and a little wave and smile. Mostly certain he wasn't going to suddenly do something else you continued your walk to the exit, only for the Magician to call out just on the verge of walking past the tents flaps.
"Oh! One moment of your time more before you leave my cozy little tent, dear sir!" Mephistopheles called out from the stage, and in a flash of smoke appeared to your left at the tents precipice, with only a pair of flaps seperating you from the outside.
"Uh, yes?" You asked, uncertain of what he wanted your time for now, unless this was a bait & switch?
"I offer to you, should you accept it, a commemorative autograph for your time by my side as the most cooperative of my show-assistants to date. And trust me, my autograph is 𝘢𝘭𝘭 the rage round these parts." He happily offered me, holding a black fountain-pen in one hand.
"Uh umm, sure?" You accepted, absently knowing that you didn't have anything with you for him to autograph.
"Perfect! Now one moment-" He snapped his fingers and you suddenly felt impossible dizzy without moving, with some sort of subconscious feeling that 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥. "-while I autograph-"