Tantabus materialized deep within the Fearland Fair, the biggest of smirks gracing his face as he realized his goal had been accomplished. By inducing fear and deluding that one, he had spread the rumor he aimed for. A wave of the hand revealed a large portal-like screen, and multiple various entities beyond it.
A young boy with a trident of water grimaced as Liber de Pantasiis emerged into his mind, the true horrors of a Nightmare Demon of Delusion written across his mind before leaving the simple memory of the book. The boy paled greatly and sprinted off, worry on his face as he rode up to a crystalline castle.
A girl holding a small stick of wood had a very similar reaction, although she managed to memorize the majority of the book as it passed. Her face revealed instant planning before she disappeared.
Two brothers and an angel scoffed as they heard the book, and they began scattering the salt in their hands. The angel looked somewhat confused by comparison, though the brother almost seemed to know exactly what they were doing, no matter how hopeless it would be.
A few more figures passed his vision, and the demon sat there with a wide smirk, and a devilish red glow flooded the room. Alongside many heroes, he had witnessed many villains, ones whom he was certain to turn to his side. A few might not, but they would be easy to manipulate. Tantabus looked through the minds of various Nightmares and grinned when he noticed he could still see from 'Greg's mind. Not that he'd be using him anytime soon, but it was useful nonetheless.
Hoards of Nightmares stood idly in their worlds, each granted some ability from their past life. Tantabus waved a hand and the 'Chaos Lord' known as Discord appeared before him, caged. "Hello again Discord, I see my corruption is slowly working, not that I prefer anything else."
Discord's eyes twitched and one of his legs darkened before flashing back, "Release me! How dare you attack a lord of Chaos!" Tantabus laughed again, a rather amused expression coming across his face.
"Do you not know who I am? The legends are there, no matter how... faint, they may be," Tantabus asked, looking at the draconequus's face, a few moments later, it registered. The legends had been successful, both of them. His myth had spread to the Void, and it was there.
"...NO." Discord shouted, fear crossing his eyes.
"Many believe in various reasons for fear of the dark, my dear chaos lord," Tantabus said, "The Vashta Nerada, demons, ghosts.." Tantabus laughed again, "Those are good reasons for fearing the dark, yes, I suppose. But, deep, deep in everyone's subconscious is something else, an inherent fear of the dark. Everyone has it in varying levels, but she's there."
"The truth is, I am that reason. I live in the dark, in your nightmares, in your very mind," Tantabus said, a hand lifting the terrified draconequus's face, one that had been filled with fear very quickly after all those torture sessions from before, from Tantabus and his nightmares both. "I command the Vashta Nerada, demons quake before my feet, and ghosts turn to poltergeists, all because of me, you see. I am Fear, but I am something else. Not that I need to say it, because here in a few moments, you will be one of my Nightmares to command..."
Tantabus leaned in to Discord's face, "Boo." The chaos lord paled instantly, the good in him falling before the overpowered darkness, and he fell, kneeling low, "Where are the rest of your kind, chaos demon?" A loud groan came from outside, and Tantabus shrugged it off, he knew why it was happening so no need to investigate.
"Not here, my lord," Discord said, not lifting his darkened head. The shadow nodded in contemplation, a few flickers of red sparking across his body.
"Call them, and make sure they do not suspect anything. Pretend something threatens chaos, and it does," Tantabus said, looking at chaos demon's face. Untouched by emotion any longer, Discord nodded. Without a single noise, the darkened features lightened and the draconequus vanished from sight. The shadow turned around and made his way out into the fair's man grounds, waiting patiently as a rip tore in the area. It shown through into the Lunar Princess's dreams, and he sent a tendril out, one to manipulate her dreams.
A laugh echoed through the fair, now silent as the nightmares were elsewhere, "Enjoy that little gift, Luna." He sat back down as Tirek remerged in the Mindscape, the centaur bowed low before his feet. Tantabus touched his thoughts,barely dipping the top.
"Tartarus is ours," Tirek said as Tantabus smiled darkly, "I have also managed to get the Outer Reaches in our grip. The ley lines are still proving to be a slight issue for our teams, the raging magic is fighting back."
"Hold, for now. Once I can reach there, I will make passage easier," the smile dimmed to a very slight grimace, the ley lines were a much bigger issue than he had believed them to be previously. It would be simple for him, not for his armies. He looked back into the portal, another plan in his mind. The legends would empower him, and he could already feel the effects increasing.
"Yes, my lord," Tirek vanished and a frown graced the features of the nightmare demon, his red eyes darkening to a lackluster burgundy. The demon looked towards the portal and extended a tendril, searching for a new victim whose fears were easy. Another set or dark crackling orbs appeared in Tantabus's hands.
"Time to start, it would seem."