You've Convinced Me

Chapter 11: Can't Run Away Forever

The world shifted around him, and he was no longer in the castle. Instead of a ceiling, the purple sky now loomed above, and the strange trees were present on all sides. It looked to be a clearing within a part of the forest area. But it was also incredibly dark, the only light source being the moonlight.

It was a full moon that night, possibly the only indication of time there. It was bigger than those he would see in other worlds, a true giant. A small pond mirrored it, the soft glow captured onto the surface below.

The general area looked a bit worn, visible damage in the trees and ground. With what seemed to be soil turned over the grass in some parts of the floor, and trees with a few missing branches, or a chunk of it missing. Fallen wood were ever present, scattered throughout like debris after a hurricane.

He hadn't expected Killer to get so excited, so much so that he would bring them out into the open darkness. Surely he wouldn't try to kill him now, when he had not done so all the other times?

He briefly wondered if any of them knew that killing him would rid Nightmare too. Dream decided it was best if he didn't try to guess.

Even though he asked for this, he was starting to have second thoughts.

"W-where is this?" Dream could see the castle, but it was quite the distance away, route shrouded by trees.

"This is our usual sparring ground. Far enough from the castle where we can't accidentally destroy anything."

"But it's so dark! Are we really-"

"Everything here is dark. Geez, your lack of will is disappointing... so will you give up just because you're afraid of a little dark?" Killer retrieved one of his knives from his jacket.

"No..." Dream said softly. He only wanted to get himself moving and some practice, so sparring might not have been the right word to use. Especially when he had almost no magic. This was going to be a very one-sided battle if he didn't set some rules.

"Then there should be no issue. Let's start already." Killer was hopping from foot to foot, looking restless.

"No, I need to make clear some things first." Dream sighed. "I have no weapon, and can't use my magic properly, as you might know." He made a weak attempt at bringing out his magic, only for it to dissipate almost immediately. "I just want to practice dodging. And please, no killing."

Killer stopped his bouncing. "Boo. How boring." When Killer didn't continue immediately, Dream was ready to bring up all the reasons why- "But alright, it would be too easy otherwise. And I'm not dumb enough to kill you. Nightmare will have my head." A wide grin, and a suprisingly easy compromise. "Anyways, no magic it is. I use knives anyway."

Dream straightened as he felt something swoosh past him, barely grazing at his sleeves. A small thump sounded from behind, a knife embedded into a tree was his guess.

"What're ya standing there like an idiot for?" Killer said as he lunged at Dream. It was dark, but thankfully, he hadn't lost his ability to sense the presence of others. Though to be fair, Killer's emotions always felt suppressed, it was strange. He could feel the other approach quickly, and also see the glowing target soul. It was quite ominous, actually. The only real problem were probably projectiles.

The knife was an item easier to spot because of its reflectiveness. A little white flicker was all Dream needed to see for him to leap high up enough into the air for him to jump over Killer entirely, letting the other swing at air. Dream didn't take any moment to look down, knowing Killer was already preparing his next move. He rolled to break his fall, and when he stood to his feet he jumped backwards to avoid another dangerous strike. He couldn't catch his breath there either, following up with a sidestep, he let the knife miss him entirely. He had to be extremely focused and predict where Killer would strike next, that's the only way to ensure he doesn't get hit.