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Death. Rebirth. A new beginning. A struggle that seems to have no end. Death. Rebirth. Your forces collide in a beautiful dance. Death. Rebirth. Another fight, another life lived in pure bliss. Death. Rebirth. A knife in your body, a breaking of something within his. Death. Rebirth. You get back up, and you are free from all your chains as you rise into the challenge ahead. Death. Rebirth. You are facing your challenger once agai-No. No you are somewhere else, somewhere foreign, yet infinitely familiar.
The Adversary gets up, ready to continue the fight, but she is faced with nothing but an empty cabin. First she feels anger. How dare he abandon her. But then the feeling fades, and is replaced with something else. The realization dawns on her that this can't have been his doing, that something else must have pulled her from the dance. And she is determined to find out what.
She glances around the dim cabin, trying to shake off the feeling of being watched. As her gaze settles on the empty doorframe, a dull glint of light catches in her eyes. The pristine blade almost seems to glow against the darkness of the cabin, and the lack of blood unsettles her. It was as if this blade hadn't seen what she knows it must have. As if it had never tasted her flesh. As if it was never stained by the bloody song they were writing what should have been just minutes ago, but feels like an eternity away already. If she wasn't unnerved before, she certainly is now. But this is nowhere near enough to break the Adversary's will, and so she steels herself to continue forward. She picks up the blade, turning back to the dark, yawning void of the doorway. He must be down there.
She crosses the threshold, and the steps floating in the air creak under her weight. The smell of ozone wafts up from the basement, and the energy coursing through the air makes her hair stand on end. She isn't used to being afraid, and this unfamiliar feeling gnaws at her heart. Her grip on the blade subconsciously tightens. She begins to step forward when a voice suddenly rings out.
"I wasn't expecting a visitor. Especially not someone like you. Why don't you come down and say hi?"
The Adversary doesn't want to admit the way that voice makes her feel, but she continues downwards all the same. Once she reaches the bottom of the stairs, she is met with more floating pieces of basement, guiding her towards a crossroads. Upon reaching it, she pauses indecisively. She does not have the time to choose, though, as the other princess soon appears in front of her.
"You're really not who I was expecting. But you have his little knife, so you must be someone he knows. Was the little bird too scared to face me himself?"
Somehow, despite her mask remaining completely still, the other princess' expression turns just as condescending as her voice. The Adversary doesn't get to react to that, though, as the Nightmare's presence begins to turn her body numb. She opens her mouth as if to speak, but closes it again, beginning to feel faint.
The other princess just laughs.
"Oh. I guess you can't take it either. This will be so. Much. Fun.
"Don't tell me what I can't take."
The Adversary manages to take a gulping breath. Her body was barely functioning, but it still managed to work if she forced it. One laboured breath at a time, every struggling heartbeat its own effort.
"Just look at yourself. You're practically dead already! Gasping for air all pretty, struggling just as hard as you can. But I guess you are handling it better than that bird, so that's something. Isn't it?"
"Argh! Just shut up!"
Despite the state she's in, the Adversary moves, lashing out with her fist. The Nightmare casually twirls out of the way, somehow looking almost shocked for a moment.
"Now, now. Don't be fiesty."
She wags her finger condescendingly.
"You don't want to see what I can do when I stop playing."
The Nightmare caresses her cheek, and the Adversary's senses go black. It was just for a moment, but it was as if she had died again. This was new. This force that permeated her being was something the bird couldn't even begin to compare to. No normal fight could compare to the masochistic ecstacy that a single touch from this princess brought. This was a struggle worth fighting.
And then it's over. The Nightmare draws back, looking her over curiously.
You enjoyed that, didn't you? You really aren't anything like him. This is going to be more fun than I thought!"
She twirls again, joyously spinning to the Adversary's other side.
"I'm not something to be toyed with. Why don't you take this seriously?!"
"Because if I took it seriously, you'd be dead! And I'd be all out of things to play with. Besides, you're cute when you struggle!"
The Adversary blushes, yet she doesn't understand why.
"I'm not cute."
She wants to fight back. She wants to hurt this other princess, dance with her like she did the bird, but that's not the game the Nighmare plays. She's getting used to the aura, though, and better equipped to struggle against this tide.
"Would you prefer adorable?"
"No!"
The Adversary strikes out again, and this time manages to make contact with the other princess. Her body almost folds under her fist, like it was made of cloth instead of flesh and bone. The Nightmare doubles over, and then strikes out, grabbing the Adversary's shoulders with surprising force. She feels her whole body give out as the shock of senses falling dead causes her to gasp in pain. The Nightmare does not need to hold on long before the Adversary's body falls dead to the floor. The pristine blade slips from her grasp, and tumbles into the void, never to be seen again.
"Oh well. I suppose nothing lasts forever. A shame she gave out so fast, though. I really thought she could've handled more than that."
Death. Rebirth. Though it is a struggle, your lungs take in air, and your heart begins to pulse again. Your limbs strain to pull you up, but you eventually manage to stand once more.
"Oh, what a surprise. You're back to life, and I get to break you all over again!"
The Nightmare's mask seems slightly more cracked than before.
"You want a round two?~"
"Yes. Yes! Come at me with all you've got, and let me show you what I can really do."
The Adversary settles into a more combatative stance, and despite her body still struggling to even work, she seems genuinely capable of contesting the Nightmare's aura.
"Well.. I suppose I have nothing better to do, and besides, maybe if we take long enough, that rotten bird will work up the courage to come down here itself.."
She smiles, moving closer.
I've decided I'm going to indulge you!"
And so the two princesses fall into a new dance, one that starts much more violent than it ends. As they move, the Adversary becomes more able to keep up with the Nightmare's tide of death, and the Nightmare becomes more accustomed to the Adversary's movements. Together they twirl through the void, one careful to never harm the other more than she can handle, the other killing her lover a thousand times over. They have an eternity together, and though the Nightmare still isn't free, she is happy in a way the Long Quiet could never make her. Death. Rebirth. A dance that will go on forever.