//------------------------------//
// Not-Presence 
// Story: A Nightmare 
// by Moterius 
//------------------------------//

The Presence was very fast and far more intelligent than it once was. The quick nightmare found that it could hide from it by using normal dreams, but it was gradually losing its strength.

It knew that the other nightmares were not as old, not as fast, not as powerful, and not as knowledgeable about the Presence. There were barely any nightmares left from that time.

The nightmare was not surprised that it felt terror when looking at the Presence.

However, it was surprising when it realized that it could grasp this terror and feed on it. It theorized that it had stayed a nightmare for too long and was supposed to have become a dreamer already.

Luckily, the presence never could stay permanently hunting nightmares. After a while, it vanished again, and the quick nightmare darted to all the other nightmares. They quickly devised a new plan.

Every nightmare would search a dreamer they knew to sometime have bad dreams and enter a state of hibernation. The bad dreams would provide them with barely enough sustenance, but it would keep them alive.

The presence had changed, and by now resembled dreamers more than nightmares. The quick nightmare theorized that if they could hide long enough and search another dream when the dreamer vanished, they would eventually find one cycle that the presence was gone for good.

But the quick nightmare also knew that the presence had learned, and that was why it did not plan on attacking the presence again. The presence had prepared itself, and now even touching it had become a death sentence.

And before the quick nightmare could find a suitable dream, it was shocked to feel the presence start to phase into the dream realm right next to it. It dove into the next closest dream, shocked.

The presence never teleported!

It could just hope that the presence had not noticed it and that the others had hidden themselves already.

Looking around, it found that it landed in an entirely empty dream.

There was nothing, and the nightmare made itself as small as possible. There were just some things it was not willing to risk.

However, it seemed like for some reason, even though it knew the presence had to notice it by now, it decided to ignore it. Why? If for any reason, the presence was scared of this dream, then that would be a great thing!

It would be even better if it could just not enter this dream. Because then, the only problem the nightmares would have was collecting energy.

However, it soon realized why this dream was not visited by the presence.

The nightmare could not leave!

Normally, this would have been a death sentence, but the nightmare could feed off its own terror. Not for long, mind you, but maybe long enough to find some way to escape.

Ah, a most interesting little thing I have found here.

Whirling around, the nightmare spotted a dreamer’s image, but it was twisted. The dreamer it was an image of was an enigma to the nightmares, as it seemed to have neither good nor bad dreams.

However, this being in front of the nightmare, it was something far, far different than a dreamer, or a nightmare.

It was almost like…

The Presence!

The Presence.

The Presence…

Those two… they were the same.

Burning with rage and energy that should have been reserved for the presence, the nightmare enlarged to a form far bigger than before. It was not hiding anymore. It was done hiding.

“Destroy, vanish, die! Not-presence!” the nightmare screeched, breaking the one rule nightmares abridged by.

No direct attacks.

Because they usually ended in disaster.

However, in this specific instance, the nightmare had more than enough energy, and only one choice. It could win. And it was determined to win.

Rushing forwards, a black blade formed along one of its extremities, crude, but sharp.

A nightmare was not an existence that fought very often. Not like this, in any case. And never to kill.

The quick nightmare found time to drily chuckle.

It was setting a lot firsts during its existence.

Barely raising the ‘blade’ in time, the other being in this dream crashed a red sword into it. The nightmare scowled – but had to acknowledge the speed this being showed.

However, the nightmare still was a being with hundreds of thousands of dream cycles experience! It would not let itself be defeated! True, even the Presence was not fighting this being – but the Presence probably never fought this being in a battle to the death, either!

Additionally, this was still a dream. Not a normal one, that the nightmare could tell – but it was still a dream.

Summoning a mountain above the other being, it let it crash down, and the expression of the being told the nightmare that it managed to surprise the being.

Enraged and with flaming sword the being broke free of the mountain, but the nightmare was not lazing around – and had summoned hundreds of clones of itself. They all were weak, but they could not be told apart.

And they all rushed at the being that attacked their creator, while the nightmare itself was rushing forwards to not be spotted, as well.

However, the being seemed to have another ace up its sleeve… a flame ball formed atop its head, and shot into the nightmare clones and the nightmare, blasting all but the nightmare to pieces.

Then, another flame ball appeared, but the nightmare reiterated with a blast of black energy.

Deep black clashed with deep red, creating a ball of energy, half black, and half yellow.

But even though the nightmare was strong, against this foe, it still was weak. Additionally, the nightmare realized, these flames were not blocking the black energy it used – but absorbed it!

And there was nowhere to dodge. The nightmare tried but couldn’t move.

The black energy got consumed by the red, and the nightmare found itself burning away…