Niko plummets through the mists of the Dreamscape, bracing for impact as she is about to hit the surface below. Much to her surprise, however, she plunges straight into the ground; it ripples like water, and as the opaque, milky substance slows down her fall, it begins to fill up her nostrils like water as well. Regaining her bearings, Niko struggles to swim to the surface. When she finally emerges, it’s a graceless affair as grasps for air and kicks her legs around to keep herself afloat in the mysterious substance, as she looks around for a shore to clamber onto. Unfortunately, there seems to be nothing but eerily calm sea as far as the eye can see.

Niko: Oh, for God’s sake— Who makes their domain into an endless ocean? (she checks the horizon in all directors, but what she sees is always the same — a perfectly horizontal line separating the white, extending endlessly, from the sky’s pink) … I don’t— (she closes her eyes, trying to draw upon her memories of Koharu’s family once again) Where are you, goddamnit?! And more importantly, where the fuck is the shore?! 

With a frustrated groan, Niko splashes around, as if trying to will a shore into existence, but to little avail. She sighs, looking up towards the sky while trying to float on her back.

Niko: When’s the last time I could go swimming with Shinju…? (she closes her eyes again for a few seconds) Fuck it. (Determined, she raises her arms and places her hands down flat onto the surface of the enigmatic sea. To her surprise, the supposed liquid surrounding her now feels solid to the touch.) What the—? (frowning, Niko presses down with all her strength, and bizarrely enough, manages to raise herself out of the water, with a few nervous steps now climbing onto the surface she had been submerged in mere seconds ago. Tapping her foot a few times to make sure the ground beneath her truly can be walked on, she looks down in amazement and appreciation.) … This place never fails to amaze me, huh?

As she looks up again, however, the environment has changed. No longer reaching flatly into infinity, the white now surrounds her with haunting silhouettes covering its every square foot, like kudzu grown out of control; their twisting, contorted forms simultaneously frozen in place and melting into the surface. Upon closer inspection, the overgrowth takes the shape of thousands of human bodies — entombed in marble, their expressionless faces gazing at Niko as she quietly makes her way through the wicked forest.

Niko: God… A-Are these… (as she looks around, her attention is eventually caught by two of the figures right in front of her, their lower bodies having been absorbed into the surface, while their arms appear to desperately reach out for a helping hand) … Shirahara’s sister… and her mother… (hesitatingly, her fingers graze Midori’s as she looks into the statue’s hollow eyes) N-No… No! (desperate, she grabs Midori’s arm and pulls with all of her strength, attempting to pull the silhouette free from its prison)

An eerily familiar voice resonates from behind Niko, one belonging to the last person Niko wanted to hear in this exact moment. How Worldeater had gotten here behind Niko so quickly was a mystery.

Worldeater: Hm. Pull a little harder, perhaps a bit more leverage would do the trick. Ah, but what kind of gentleman would I be if I did not offer the lady my assistance, hm?

Niko: (she turns around, scowling) W-What are you doing to these people, you sick freak?!

Worldeater: Just a little gardening. They look plenty ripe now, though. Shall we harvest? Or are you content to let the nature of this place eat at them completely? Ah, trick question. If you pulled any harder, you would pull their souls clean in half. (he stands, dusting off his expensive looking opera outfit, and straightens his mask) But why, oh why, would I give such valuable information to my enemy, hmm~?

Niko: (she takes a few wavering steps back) … B-Because you just can’t help enjoying the smell of your own farts? B-Bet they smell like… pasta.

Worldeater: …You are a child. To think, Father passed on his Masque to someone so crass… it boils my fucking blood.

Niko: F-Father…? That’s impossible. The… Troubadour didn’t have a son.

Worldeater: (Luca can’t help but let out a strong, high pitched laugh) Told you that, did he? Perhaps the trustworthy Maestro? He never had a legitimate child, no. But a figlio illegittimo on the other hand, well… (Luca’s eyes flash under the mask, his tone briefly dropping into a deadly serious cadence) …you’re looking right at him. 

Niko: H-How many times do I have to tell you, I don’t speak Spanish!

Worldeater: (a gold walking cane with a ruby on the top materializes in his left hand, and he tosses it towards Niko) Now come! Your rival, your enemy stands before you! Do not disappoint me! Do not rob me of this grand finale!

Niko: A-Are you insane…? I’m not gonna friggin’ sword-fight you! T-That’s… (sniffle) That’s not how the Dreamscape works!

Worldeater: Oh? Please tell me you were not so naive as to try and appeal to my humanity were you? We cannot settle a contest of this realm with words, child. (Luca pulls on the gem adorning his cane, a small, silver sword drawn from within. A smirk then lights his face) …Or are you truly flesh without blood? 

Niko: I… I don’t… (she shakily picks up the cane, holding it as if one would a steel pipe rather than a sword, before she slowly exhales, strengthening her grip) These people… are not your toys. If you really are the Troubadour’s son… No wonder he ditched your ass… (she swallows) Even I am a worthier heir to his life’s work than you are!

Worldeater: There you go. There’s the bite of a proper challenge. Then draw your sword, Niko Segawa.

Niko: (she draws the sword from its scabbard, immediately hurling it at her opponent like a makeshift projectile)

Worldeater: (Luca deflects the thrown sword with ease and a heavy sigh, disappointment lining his face) …Really? God damn it, Niko. You were a Puella Magi once, how are you this bad at dueling? (he starts to calmly walk towards her)

Niko: I dunno, over here schools tend to focus on teaching you, y’know, useful stuff…?

Worldeater: Like what? Reading, writing, arithmetic? Learning to take advantage of a monologuing villain? You must have poor marks in all of those. Have you never seen a stage play before, Niko? You cross swords with your enemy! You let him reveal his evil plan, then ruminate for an Act! Devise your own plan to take me down! Instead… (Luca points his sword directly at Niko’s throat) “I scorn you, scurvy companion.”

Niko: How about you go scorn yourself, shitface! (she grits her teeth, tapping her foot on the ground — she immediately falls through, plunging back into the ocean, quickly recovering and beginning to swim away)

Worldeater: …I almost respect that comeback. (Luca’s arms stretch out wide at his sides, a wave of pavement rising behind Niko, reaching a crest before crashing down upon her)

Niko: …! (with immense force, she is spat out back onto the surface. Struggling to recover, she raises an arm towards the approaching Balancer, wincing as she tries to bend the wave towards him)

Worldeater: (Luca continues walking, unbothered. After a moment, the wave does start to turn towards him, and he holds out his arm in turn, trying to force it back towards Niko) Ggh… Oh, do not tell me Father picked a proper heir!

Niko: … H-How did you get that mask? (as she gets back to her feet, the Dreamscape behind her begins to curl up, elevating her and forcing the wave to flow downward, towards Worldeater, a fact that seems to relieve her slightly)

Worldeater: (Luca jumps up, unnaturally high and lets the wave of liquid ground crash beneath him, where he was. He descends slowly, in front of Niko, landing with a light ripple upon the ‘ocean’.) Oh, would that  you had only crossed swords with me instead. Such information would have been readily available, had you merely indulged me! Alas, the script must now undergo revisions.

Niko: Do the audience a favor and write yourself out!

Worldeater: Ahahahaha! That’s more like it! That’s the kind of comeback I expect from my rival! Stick with this writer, Niko, because this is what gives this play its soul! (Luca’s alternate cane, the gold with a ruby gem materializes in Niko’s hand) Now… fight me, Niko. Or don’t. I’ve had my fill for this scene either way. (Luca points his sword at Niko again, the ‘ocean’ rising around them, forming a small, circular arena)

Niko: What do you even want, dude? (she winces, muttering) Ugh, for fuck’s sake… (she closes her eyes, exhaling — suddenly, she dashes forwards, swinging the cane upwards, aimed straight at the Balancer’s mask)

Luca: ! (Worldeater’s mask is knocked upwards, off his face. He lunges into the air, more clumsily than his previous movements before catching the mask, placing it back upon his face. He takes a few moments to steady his breathing before facing Niko again) …Ah… ahaha… ahahahaha! Yes, yes! That is the kind of plot twist that deserves one in kind! Very well, you have earned your morsel of information. What I want, Diva, is to put Mother to rest, using the power she left behind in forming this realm. And at the same time, to avenge her mistreatment at the hands of the Conductors.

Niko: Your… Oh for crying out—Your mother’s gotten plenty of revenge already and we kicked her ass, man! Get with the times!

Worldeater: What can I say? Katherine Agnes Esposito was a spiteful woman.

Niko: Katherine? But… The Troubadour’s wife was… the other one, right? Wait, you honestly want me to believe that bleeding heart cheated on his dear wife… with her sister?

Worldeater: Now do you see, Niko? See why I want to destroy Father’s magnum opus? Knowing what he’s done, can you truly say you stand by him?!

Niko: Are… Are you serious? You think you get to mess with people’s souls, torment tens of thousands of people and team up with a bunch of murderous psychos because your mom was the other woman? Because you’re a bastard? What kind of idiot are you?! (she strikes at Worldeater again) A piece of shit like you… you were gonna be a bastard no matter who you were born to!

Worldeater: (Luca spins to the side, avoiding the swing this time.) Oh, the tormenting of your beloved friends is strictly business. My business with the Incubator, to be specific. Destroying this realm and putting Father to shame, that is my pleasure. It just so happens that the two goals coincide in such a way that I can maneuver freely within this play. I will destroy Father’s legacy for my sake, and the souls that reside within it for the Incubator’s. No more and no less. Only then, Diva, will I be satisfied. I may be a bastard… (Luca lunges forward, his sword burying itself in Niko’s stomach) …but I am my mother’s son. Perhaps it was fate that I am the way I am. But I embrace it wholly. This, Diva. This is the nature of your enemy. Never forget that. Burn it into your empty soul, and carry it with you when next we meet. (Luca withdraws his sword with equal swiftness as his strike)

Niko: (she jolts awake, clutching her head) Augh! (she looks around, taking in the surroundings of her small room at the gym) Ugh… Familiar feeling.