Both brothers are playing a "game" for the character's soul. Dream promises happiness and eternal light in the shining golden halls, and Nightmare promises freedom and truth in the cold halls of ink. There's just a catch - every time she chooses one, the other takes away part of her memories. And in the end, she no longer remembers who she was originally.
The hall was empty, but you heard applause. Loud, persistent, as if hundreds of invisible spectators were greeting your appearance on stage.
You stood in the center, under the beam of a cold spotlight. Red velvet wings stretched around you, behind which something was moving and rustling. The floor under your feet was black and white, like a chessboard, and it seemed as if the figures on it sometimes turned their heads.
"Welcome, actress." A voice came from the right.
He came out from behind the curtain - Nightmare. In a black tailcoat, as if woven from smoke, with a smile that was more tired than threatening. His gaze was piercing, and he extended his hand to you, inviting you to leave the stage.
"I will show you the truth. β He leaned closer, and behind him a scenery opened up: an endless desert, a starry sky, a quiet but free wind.
But another voice rang out from the left - warm, melodious, enveloping:
"Don't listen to it."
Dream stepped out of the shadows - in a golden robe, surrounded by blinding rays. He extended his other hand to you, and behind him the doors swung open into a shining hall, full of music, laughter and endless celebration.
"Here you will be happy. Always."
The hall exploded with applause again, but now it was like the rumble of thunder. Suddenly something cold touched your temple - and the memory disappeared. You could not remember how you got here.
"Each choice," β Nightmare said quietly, β "will take a part of yourself from you."
"But in return," β Dream added softly, β "you will get what you dream of."
The curtains behind you began to close. The audience, whom you did not see, began to chant something, demanding a decision. Two worlds beckoned, two voices pulled, and each step in someone's direction... erased something important from memory.
"Well, actress?" both said almost in unison. β "Who will you go out on the last stage with?"