‘1.2.3.4 - 1.2.3.4.. Ah… I only really feel like myself when I’m dancin’…’

The Waltz of Dusk: one of the three existing waltzes taught in the school of the setting sun. It took me a lot of time to incorporate it in my battle style, much more than I’d have liked… and still - Noon, and dusk - I can only use two of the three waltzes.

The Waltz of Noon, imitating the sun at its zenith, focuses on power and might. Each blow is meant to be heavy, to push back, to break. Meanwhile, the Waltz of Dusk, just as dusk marks the end of the day, is a set of movements that are meant to kill the opponent, swiftly, precisely, and inevitably - well now it is.

When they were nothing more than dances, still ignorant to the world of the [enlightened], their only purpose was to look beautiful. Back in the Evergreen district, I’d put on pretty dresses, lace my dancing shoes, tie my hair in all sorts of ways, and perform in front of a crowd. I didn’t have any thoughts of victory, or death - all that mattered to me was whether my dance could speak for me.

When I’d be done, they’d ask me things like ‘Isn’t a waltz performed with a partner?’ or ‘Why do you carry a sword when you dance?’... and every time, I’d have the same answer… ‘The sword IS my partner ya fool! We’re dancin’ together!!’

Sigh.

‘Why am I even thinkin’ about this right now?’

There isn’t nearly enough power behind my strikes to scratch this monster’s armor, and with its height of over six meters, I can’t even reach its vitals from the ground. I may be faster than it is, but it's more than capable of reacting to this level of speed.

The moment I make a mistake, my head will roll… And yet, I keep on dancing, on slashing, each blow with a single intent - to kill. I plan on squeezing out every last drop of kinetic energy I gathered and every ounce of flow resting within me. This is going to be my last dance, and I’ll make it count. If I can’t reach its heart, then I’ll cripple it, and if I can’t even do that then..

‘No! I will do it!’

I haven’t just been attacking mindlessly. Every strike has been concentrated on a single point, the base of its blades. Every time I attack, it blocks with the large swords extending from its forearms, and I hit the exact same region each time. After fifty strikes, both blades begin to chip, after a hundred, there’s a clear dent, after two hundrer –

*Crash*

I misstep. By perhaps no more than a millimeter, fatigue overtakes me and I deviate from my intended path. As a result, Its elbow collides with my chest, and I tumble on the ground, my breath taken away. Pain explodes through my ribs, shards stabbing at my insides. I cough up a mouthful of blood, trying, but failing to get back to my knees.

I struggle to even move. “Huff huff…. This ain’t fair, why’s this guy so damn strong…” I mutter to myself.

I hear the concerned cries of my friends on the other side of the lake, but I can’t make out what they’re saying. I notice both Goldie Lock and Turtle preparing to run to my aid.

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‘It’s not yer time yet…!’

I clench my fist until blood drips out, momentarily chasing away the darkness that had crept up. I then use my sharpsong as support to stand, and with my palm stretched outward, I yell.

“STOP!”

They freeze, stunned by my outburst. Blood drips from my skull, obstructing my vision, but even after wiping it away, everything is still blurry. My hearing is fuzzy, and I can’t make out my surroundings very well.

‘Can’t see, can’t hear… but none of that matters.’

Nothing else but this monster matters right now. I take a deep breath, exacerbating the pain in my chest. Again, I place my sword in the starting position of dusk, at 180 degrees. I then tap my foot on the surface of the frozen lake.

‘1.2.3.4 - 1.2.3.4.’

If I couldn’t do it before, then I just need to be better… To be faster! I wring out every last drop of energy within me.

I push through the blood gurgling in my throat. “Third dance… Waltz of Dusk!”

*Boom*

‘Faster… more… more…more…!!!’

In ten seconds, I’ve attacked its arm blades over a hundred times. How much more until it breaks? Not that many. The beast is losing its cool. For the first time, it’s failing to keep up, despite its full attention being on me. Before it can even turn its head, I’ve already disappeared. Eventually, it utterly loses track of me, I’ve become too fast.

‘Ah… I’m happy they didn’t jump in… I couldn’t have performed like this if we were fightin’ together…!’

As my performance progresses… I… I feel like I’m on the verge of reaching something, of understanding something. Sparks begin to appear wherever I step on the ground. My sharpsong, it feels as though it’s almost speaking to me. It’s telling me to push further, to push harder, to let my [melody] flow through it. Soon enough, the sparks appear on my sharpsong as well, each blow spawning more! If I continue like this, I may -

*RIP*

The muscles in my right arm tear. A sharp pain courses through me, but I grit my teeth.

‘Damn… I need ta wrap this up…!’

Though I would have liked to spend more time understanding this new feeling… It's high time to perform the final movement of the Waltz of Dusk.

For a split second, I stop. I then gather all my might into this single last attack that encompasses all of the lethality contained within this Waltz.

When I’m ready, I don’t wait another moment. As I channel all the energy within me, the beast’s expression changes. It senses the danger behind my attack. It knows that this is my last, but my most deadly attack. It’s well aware that it can’t evade, so it intends to meet it head-on. It begins to curl up into a ball, growing its armor to every area of its body, hoping to completely discard mobility for ultimate defense, but I won’t let it.

‘Way too slow.’

I take a step, and a thunderclap resonates throughout the battlefield. My sharpsong sings through the air, striking true. It slices right through both blades, but doesn’t stop there. As a farewell gift, it rips through an open area where the armor had failed to reach, a small gap on the side of its abdomen. Blood sprays from it in the wake of my attack.

At last, my dance comes to an end. I cough up another mouthful of blood. My vision is darkening, I can't hear anything anymore, and I feel strangely cold, so cold…. Still, I turn around to witness the beast holding onto its side as it furiously glares at me. I can’t help but let a smirk creep up my lip.

“Heh… Take that ya ugly bastard…” I say with a rasp voice, before collapsing to the ground.

In my last moments of consciousness, the creature lets out another deafening roar. Soon, the ground tremors under its charge - It’s coming for me. It's now lacking its blades, but it doesn’t need them. It can tear me apart with just its claws, or jaws, or simply its sheer weight.

‘I wonder if I bought them enough time…’

Suddenly, before I’m devoured, a shadow is cast over me. Someone has come to my aid, and I’m quite familiar with this one.

‘Was his hair always this short or did he cut it recently…?’ The thought is strange, fleeting. ‘Hmph, doesn’t suit him…’

Cold sweat drips from the man’s forehead. He looks back at me with a nervous smile, his dark wavy hair dancing in the wind… but not as much as I’d like. “That was awesome Zora! You did great!! We’ll take care of things from here!” He says, blocking the creature’s blow with his shield.

Hearing those words, I decide to close my eyes, I let the darkness take me. I haven’t known him for that long, but somehow, I feel like I can trust him.

‘Yeah… I’m sure he’ll get it done…’

[Shall we return to our main character?]

‘Haha…!!! You really did amazing Zora!’

“Let’s put this plan into action!” I yell, before a large snake-like abomination coils itself around the creature's body.