It's finally time for my stage debut! Big brother made me hold back in the first fight so he could try some tactic. I didn't mind, though, because it only built suspense. They were all saying "he won without even drawing his sword". The suspense has been built, they're all imagining what wonders his beautiful sword will show them. I can't let down my audience!

My dance partner is an ugly thing, covered in scars and with a nasty attitude. All the better to be the villain in our play. It's almost time now, the curtains are opening!

"Begin!"

In an instant, the ugly brute vanished. Big brother already told me about this trick.

Cob appeared behind Mud, swinging his curved sword in a wide sweep towards big brother's neck. I elegantly slide out of my beautiful sheath only partway, but enough to block the villain's attack. Sparks fly as metal meets much shinier metal.

Sliding smoothly out of the scabbard, I do an elegant sweep towards the rogue's stomach, but he dodges back nimbly.

"Ohh!" The crowd is awed by our rapid exchange.

Ah, this is what I live for! The adoring the crowd, the dance of battle. But something is still missing.

Yesterday, as we walked through town I heard the most lovely sound coming from some buildings, bars and restaurants mostly. The rhythmic sounds and smooth melodies inspired me.

The present that my brother gave to me is a curious thing. It can only send sounds, but they can be anything I can imagine! It would take too much concentration to send to every person individually, but if I just send to everyone without discrimination it's easy enough.

We need music for our dance. Beating of drums, and the lighter sounds of the instruments I never saw. Soft sounds, like the whistling of the wind. Harsh sounds, like the squawking of great birds.

"What is this, music?" Cob rebalanced his stance and eyed Mud. Of course, he looked at me too, floating above brother's head.

"That's Mud's execution song! Nobody who's ever heard it has lived! It's the sound of your own death!" The energetic boy was yelling again.

Cob turned to yell at the child. "You idiot, you can hear it too! That would mean you're going to die!"

Foolish to take your eyes off the hero. I lunge towards the villain. Brother helps push me a bit faster with his magic. I told him to let me handle this fight, but this much is fine.

"Gah!" Cob jumped to the side, narrowly deflecting my lunge.

Keeping pressure against his inferior sword, I rapidly swing around to the other side of it. Suddenly inside his defense, I swipe forward, aiming to take off his head.

Reacting just in time, Cob leans far backward, nearly striking his head on the floor. Swaying back upright after my swing missed, he moved to run back towards Mud.

Not so fast! I continue my swing around in a circle and come for a second pass at him. But, I was predicted!? Cob unexpectedly steps towards my handle, and with his free hand grasps me! How shocking, what an unexpected twist. I set the mood by slowing the music's tempo and focus more on the drums.

The crowd is on the edge of their seats. They think Mud is done for now, his sword taken from him. Now Cob needs only to approach and kill him. One step, two. He's drawing near to brother now.

This is it! The perfect time to shift the balance for maximum drama! The second Siddhi I realized when I spoke with that nice blacksmith. Garimā of infinite weight!

"Hah heheh, cute trick with the sword, but- wah!" The villain's speech is cut short as he falls sideways, the feather-light sword in his hand suddenly the weight of a building. I crash into the ground and leave a small crater. Some of his fingers are crushed under my weight.

"Aaaa!" A pathetic yell escapes from Cob's lips. With a sudden surge of strength, he wrenches his twisted fingers out from underneath me.

I release the weight and float into the air. It's a theatric enough trick, but it uses too much of my SP to use too often. After making an elegant twirl I return to a fighting position, blade pointed towards the villain's heart.

"Heheheh. Ahahahaha heh." Cob holds his broken hand in front of his face. A grin twists his face. Slowly, he drags the blood across his forehead.

The heckling boy yells out again. "This is it! The Blood Jester is going to use his secret technique!" Cob didn't argue back this time. He only laughed, as though in a trance. I silence the flutes and the horns. Only the beat of the drum remains, like a heartbeat.

After his head was covered in blood, the Jester raises his right arm. He pulls his sword close and slowly drags the blade across his chest. A waterfall of blood falls from the open wound and coats his body.

Of course, I could attack during this performance, but what an anticlimax that would be. Instead, I wait for my dance partner to finish his solo performance. After he takes a long look at his blade, his wild eyes turn towards Mud. Now it's time.

The flutes and horns return as the villain rushes towards the motionless Mud. I move into his path. His arm is high for a swing, he can not guard. I stab towards his exposed stomach. My blade makes contact with his blood-soaked torso with no resistance. I slide along his abdominal muscles in a slicing motion.

What's this? My blade sinks into the blood, much thicker on his body than I expected. I sink in, but stop before reaching his skin. The force of the lunatic charge carries me with it. We're near brother now.

Desperately, I swing again. As before, I'm stopped by the strange blood. I search for a spot free from blood to strike, but his entire body is covered now. He swings his arm at brother.

Unacceptable! Pulling back from attacking, I set myself at a steep angle above my brother. Like a raindrop sliding down a leaf, the swing slides down me and falls harmlessly to the side.

The jester swings again, but again I deflect it to the side.

Again and again, a storm of blows rains down on me.

After dozens of failed strikes, Cob steps back to form a plan, a hint of sanity returning to his eyes. Taking the chance, I launch myself like a bullet towards the villain's eyes. Not even bothering to block, he simply leans forward so the strike will hit his bloodsoaked forehead.

Just as planned. At the last second, I adjust my flight to the left side, hooking my handle over his shoulder, blade resting on his back. Garimā! Cob is smashed to the ground, his ribs buckling under the pressure.

I was going to perform this dance alone, but if nobody can see his spells it should be fine. "Brother, strike him with some Force Bolts while he can't move!"

To his credit, brother performed his role perfectly. Without moving, he sent countless blasts into the prone form of Cob. The villain struggled and leaned, trying to get me off of him, but the blows soon stopped his resistance.

Soon, he stopped moving and the judge approached.

"Stop, the fight is over."

I floated off of the body of Cob, an imprint of my body left in his back. A memento of our dance.

Brother cleaned the blood off of me with his telekinesis. With one more elegant spin, I return to my scabbard. With one last dramatic drum solo, the music halts. The dance is complete.

The judge raises one hand high above brother. "The winner is Mud!"

Wild applause rips through my audience. Spectators are packed densely in a semicircle around our ring. The crowd ending exactly at the range of my telepathy. Our biggest fan, the energetic boy, yelled out again.

"Did you see that? Executioner Mud beat him without even moving!"