Little Dreams and Hollow Nightmares

Ph2 Ch20: Dancing in Flame

Grimm revealed himself to Seven, and the two of them clashed with their weapons. Seven ducked and leapt to avoid the swings of Grimm's deadly cloak. As Seven attacked, Grimm too did his best to avoid, all while maintaining his dance style of combat. Grimm vanished again, and launched himself from the air at Seven. Luckily, Seven was ready for that attack, and jumped over Grimm, and struck him with a dash slash. As the fight continued, Grimm allowed a smile across his face.

"Now let the real dance begin!" He yelled.

Grimm vanished, and appeared in the air at the center of the stage. Seven was ready for Grimm to shoot himself down, but his cloak turned into something else. It puffed up, growing short spikes all around, and a barrage of fireballs scattered across the state in all directions. Seven moved around in a sudden panic, trying to avoid the fireballs. Despite his efforts, he found himself getting struck by three fireballs. As he tried to avoid the fire, the crowd of Grimmkin clapped and cheered for the bearer and their Troupe Master.

Grimm vanished again, and he launched his firebats at Seven, giving him no rest. Seven quickly ran towards Grimm, leapt over the first bat, and used the dash slash. But suddenly, Grimm dissapeared in a puff of flame, Seven turned around to see Grimm behind him, flinging a firebat towards him. The surprise caught Seven off guard, and the firebat slammed into his chest. Grimm appeared behind him, but before he could attack, Seven struck him with a great slash.

Grimm suddenly burst into multiple Grimmchild like figures, one of them keeping his scarlet eyes. Seven swung at the scarlet eyed Grimmchild, striking it twice before they all regrouped to form Grimm. The crowd applauded the excellent performance of Seven and Grimm as the dance continued. The two of them continued to swipe at each other, counting their opponents every move. Grimm leapt into the air again, raining down flames as he dissapeared yet again.

Seven kept his eyes out, and saw a puff of red flames as Grimm revealed himself. He ran towards him, ready to strike. But before he could land a hit, Grimm scurried away on four legs, letting a part of his nightmarish form show. He attacked Seven with his firebats, but Seven easily countered with a dash slash. Grimm appeared in the stages center, once again puffing up his cloak. The crowd cheered and applauded while Seven managed to dodge most of the fireballs Grimm shot out.

As they kept fighting, Seven realized why Grimm called this battle a dance. The way he used the same attack, and the way Seven used the same techniques to dodge, it was like a dance. Now knowing the tactics, Seven continued to dance with the Troupe Master, and even the flames around seemed to be dancing around them as they fought. No matter how many times Seven was struck with the scarlet fire, he always kept fighting. All for the Grimmchild. All for his friend.

The dance reached its climax as Grimm suddenly screamed out after Seven struck him one final time. Flames erupted from his body and cloak as he vanished into flames. As Seven thought it was over, Grimm reappeared in the stages center, and bowed to Seven. Seven bowed back, and the crowd cheered and clapped louder than ever before. Grimm stood back up in his usual pose, awaiting Seven's approach.

Before Seven reached Grimm, he heard his voice in his head, as familiar dream catcher particles swirled around him.

Masterful! Even a broken dream can stand its own against me! Grimm's voice said. A worthy replacement for you, little friend. And a perfect tool to prolong the heart of Grimm.

The particles faded, and Seven was left, once again, with questions. Who was the little friend Grimm mentioned? Was it the Grimmchild? No, it couldn't be. Grimm said replacement. Could he mean the previous bearer of the Grimmchild? And most importantly, what did Grimm mean when he called him a broken dream?!? He forced himself out of his questions, and approached Grimm.

"Bravo, my friend," he said. "Hear how the crowd adores you! They thought they'd never see such a show so soon after the last."

Grimm paused, and snapped his fingers. A swirl of flames gathered before Seven, and the Grimmchild appeared in front of him. Seven smiled at the return of his friend, but was soon impressed with their change. The Grimmchild's shell was now red like Grimm's, and six tentacles were keeping it up in the air. The Grimmchild flew around Seven, happily chirping for its bearer. Seven smiled, along with Grimm.

"Look here! How our child has grown, nourished and strengthened by the heat of our passionate dance!" He said, smiling. Ge looked down at the two of them, and gave a quick nod of respect. "The two of you will feature in many tragedies and triumphs together, I'm sure." Grimm turned back, and faced the crowd of Grimmkin. "And so our great Ritual nears its end. Will you continue to harvest the flame, even though now you surely see the path it illuminates for us?" He asked Seven, knowing he heard his inner thoughts.

He looked down at the dream. He did not yet know who he was, and his head was bustling with question after question. But in time, he would learn of his strength, and use his power to its fullest. He smiled at Seven, and spoke. "Our scarlet eyes will watch you keenly... friend."

And with that, the lanterns above went out, cloaking the crowd in darkness. Grimm vanished in a puff of flames, but not before leaving Seven with some final words. "Go out into the darkness," he said. "Harvest the last lingering embers of this Kingdom. Then return to me and we will complete our dance."

His voice silenced, leaving only Seven and the Grimmchild left in the stage. Seven looked at his friend, and with a shared feeling of determination, they headed out of the tent. But as they walked, Seven noticed the silence. Before he exited, he realized.

Brumm wasn't there.

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"I await you young one. The child's memories must be restored."

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Okay, after that heavy foreshadowing and cryptic ending in this chapter, I have no idea what to say here.

I guess I should just say that big things are coming! And hopefully I manage to pull off the ending I have for this phase.

Until then, see you in the next chapter everyone!