Prologue: Misery
The great central hall gleamed with a sense of regality in the diffused moonlight that filtered through the clouds and shone through the glass dome above. The walls, the floor, and parts of the ceiling were all golden, etched with designs and inlaid with stained glass portraits in red and purple and green and blue. Though the area of the room was large, the wingspan of the colossal moth spread out on the floor so surpassed it that the tips bent up against the walls slightly.
The insect lay limp on the ground, having lost the energy or motivation to try and fight back against the four large black spikes that pinned its wings down. The weight of its massive antenna caused them to bend over towards the ground as he no longer tried to lift them.
"Come on now, will you ever stay dead?" the calm, otherwise humble-sounding voice echoed throughout the quiet hall and was the only indication that the creature was not part of some large insect display board, already dead. Though the voice's owner could have passed for Hylian in shape and size, he sat quite comfortably between the two antennae.
The great beast gave a long, slow exhale. It was strenuous to do so. A hand, gray as ash in skin color, grasped one of the feelers that its owner was straddled between. The insect shrieked involuntarily as the Nightmare bent it back towards him, knowing full well how sensitive it was. He laughed darkly, there was nothing he could do about it.
He released the antenna. It sprung back into place, a little bent. Many moments passed, and then the beast spoke,
"Why… do you do this? You cannot kill me… you will never kill me."
"Eventually you have to. Maybe not in this millennium, and perhaps not even at our hands, but you cannot move, and one day we will win"
"Then why torture me?"
"You already know the answer to that. We told you when this all began."
"Much has changed… since then."
"Nothing has changed until you are gone for good."
The beast wheezed. "You lie to yourself. You have changed this realm. Now all it is just a realm of misery"
"In that case, nothing has changed a bit."
"All you care for is misery… you cannot find joy in anything else. You exist off of others' negative feelings. If that's no indication of how pathetic you are… nothing is."
At those last words, both of them fell silent. The grin did not move from the king's face, however, "Whoever said we can't? Perhaps we just don't care."
"Prove me wrong."
The dark figure stood, then, lightly balanced on his captive's head. "Considering how little time you probably have left, it would be our honor to do so." He lightly brushed the back of his hand across the many sensitive feeling hairs along the antenna. The entire head lurched back in response. With a faded giggle, he vanished, leaving the exile to perish at the end of immortality.
