Chapter Text
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Pure Vanilla grew increasingly unsettled as he attempted to navigate his way through the ever-changing Spire, his lack of true sight making his head spin with an uncomfortable sense of helplessness.
He paused abruptly as the floor beneath him shifted, dissipating right before him, opening to a drop that seemed to go down for miles.
It was nothing more than a blurred smear of black and white where the bright-tiled floor was steadily collapsing and rebuilding itself, and he had to squint his eyes just to see that much.
Pure Vanilla was set on attempting to walk around the gaping hole, when he heard an unfamiliar sound-- laughing, or perhaps crying.
But where was it coming from...?
"Hello?" He called out softly, turning his head about in hopes of seeing something, at the very least. "Is someone there? Is something wrong?"
There was no worded reply, just the steadily continuing sound of something sobbing.
Finally, Pure Vanilla stepped slightly closer to the hole, 'staring' down into the darkness. The floor around it shifted to a pause as he crouched at the edge of the opening; he swept his hand in front of him, thinking that maybe the hole was not a hole, and just mere trick of the Spire.
But sure enough, his hand dipped below the surface level as though he were putting his hand within a jar of thick honey, the shadows within seeming to curl around his wrist, attempting to drag him deeper and never let him go.
"W-what...?" He stammered quietly, his stomach doing a small, nervous jump at the sight. As quickly as he'd placed it there, Pure Vanilla tried to pull his hand out of the liquidy, substantial shadows, but it only served to heighten their senses, and the misty, black tendrils crept up his arm to wrap around his bicep.
Suddenly, the crying stopped, replaced by a maniacal, smug giggle, that of which could only belong to one person...
"Aww, leaving so soon, huh, Nilly? Don't you want to stay a while?"
Pure Vanilla let out a hiss as the darkness tightened around his arm, steadily twitching upward, growing warmer as they pressed into his skin through his clothes.
"Let me go, Shadow Milk!" He gasped out, still trying to pull his arm free to no avail.
"Why would I do that when the show is about to start, Nilly?" The jester's voice sounded as though it echoed from the very walls of the Spire, his mocking, incredulous tone vibrating the floor beneath Pure Vanilla's struggling form.
"I need a show, a play, something entertaining!"
Pure Vanilla let out a startled cry as the liquid shadows lunged forward, clearing the distance of the rest of his right shoulder in a flash.
Shadow Milk laughed at the struggle, seeming truly amused by Pure Vanilla's evident panic.
"Don't worry Nilly, I won't break you just yet..." His voice mused, "after all, the show can't go on without the star!"
With that, the dark ropes lashed upward to lock around Pure Vanilla's entire body, killing his struggling with the swift movement. Shadow Milk's laughter echoed in his head as his heart beat deafeningly loud in his ears, his frantic spirit refusing to die completely, even as he was dragged into the depths of the shadows, where his only friend would be his worst enemy.