The stage curtains slowly parted, as if the veil of destiny were being pulled aside by invisible hands.
Candlelight flickered within glass lanterns, splashing mottled shadows across the stage. The air was thick with particles of psychic energy and narcotics—relics of the entertainment used during the height of the Aeldari Empire.
The Harlequin Troupe Master emerged from the mist, his mask half-gilded in gold and half-studded with silver. He spread his arms to the void. "Behold how the Dreamweaver's veil is soaked in blood! We once played with the stars as dice to cheat fate, yet now we dance to the rhythm of extinction. When the Beast of Pleasure roared in the Webway, the gut-strings of the gods snapped the eternal score—"
He plucked a six-stringed lute, producing the sound of shattering crystal. The other Harlequins filed onto the stage, moving with the stiff, jerky motions of mechanical puppets.
They sang in unison: "Once, Craftworlds drifted like autumn leaves, while the mirrors of Commorragh reflected faces of madness. They drank deep from the bitter wine of the galaxy; on the precipice between insanity and clarity, they carved their final poems with screams!"
An eerie green light flared on the left side of the stage. Four actors mimicked the dancers of Saim-Hann. As the first Harlequin sang, his mask cracked with web-like patterns. "Look! Aeldari souls flow like honey, and the steps of the Temples of Excess lead straight to the sea of stars. We wove iridescent silks with lust and tempered moonlight blades with hatred—"
He suddenly clutched his throat. "But who among the revelers heard it? That dark, ravenous trembling!"
The second Harlequin walked upside down along wires of energy: "When the flowers of slaughter bloomed within the dimples of laughter, the mirrors of prophecy were clouded with bloody cataracts. The wise shouted 'Build the walls!', yet the cochleas of the hedonists were already filled with wax—until the tentacles of Slaanesh pierced the veil of reality, and we learned that ecstasy was but the threshold of eternal damnation!"
All the actors suddenly froze, becoming as still as taxidermy specimens.
An old Harlequin spoke: "Our fleets once made black holes tremble; our psychic hymns could delay the death of supernovas. Yet at the very moment of our greatest glory, every soul became a wick offered to the Chaos God. A civilization of billions of years... was nothing more than a smear of sugar on a dark god's plate!"
A crescendo of shrieks rose in the background. Yuno found it a bit noisy and covered her ears. The actors began to spin in convulsive circles.
The Troupe Master shouted: "Now the theaters of all worlds are collapsing! Let this final dance be more frantic! Pave the stage with the shattered bones of gods, and compose our extinction into satirical rhymes—"
He suddenly pointed toward the silent audience. "Spectators! Do not avert your gaze! The end of this epic of madness... must never be forgotten!!"
All the Harlequins simultaneously tore open their stage robes and pulled out their own entrails. Under the multicolored lights, the blood shimmered like a phantasm.
The Harlequins vanished and reappeared. The Solitaire took center stage, masked and magnificently dressed. Yuki thought he looked quite similar to the real Slaanesh. His voice sounded like ten thousand instruments playing in harmony.
"Slaanesh" spoke: "Wait, my dear mummers! How can a tragedy lack a speech from the new god? It was I who embroidered the ornate borders of your epic, and I who watered this fragrant flower of destruction with ultimate pleasure!"
Where his hem trailed, the entrails on the floor turned into flowing honey.
"You built high walls to guard against the dark, yet you left a keyhole for me in every dream. When the poet carves love verses upon the suns, when the warrior trembles in the moment of victory—those ripples of trembling... are the moments of my joy!"
The Solitaire grabbed two Harlequins and tore their heads open.
"Do not blame me for snapping the threads of fate. It was you who boiled your own souls into... such a delicious soup! Every dying groan is my name; every betrayal is a toast offered to me!"
"Let us call this cataclysm—the Eternal First Night! When the final Craftworld disintegrates in a rush of pleasure, you shall know that I am your... most honest reflection!"
The figure melted into the darkness amidst frantic laughter, leaving only puppet-actors dancing automatically and a single heart that slowly stopped beating.
Intermission.
...
"Splendid! Truly marvelous! As expected of the finest actors in the galaxy!"
Yuki clapped and cheered. Yuno clapped beside him with less enthusiasm—it wasn't that she didn't enjoy it, but the presence of the other "audience members" made her uncomfortable.
The Harlequins on stage took their bows before noticing that, at some point, two more "people" had appeared in the audience.
Two humanoid silhouettes. One held an axe and sat upon a chair with a kingly posture. The other was lithe and seductive, sitting with a deceptive air of obedience. Between them sat Yuki and Yuno. No one spoke.
The souls of the Harlequins were trembling.
"What do you think, Slaanesh?" Yuki asked. "I thought the Solitaire's performance had a high degree of artistic merit."
The violet shadow tilted its head slightly. "Not good. I didn't talk that much back then. In fact, no Aeldari could even stand before me to do such things. And this was a simplified version, wasn't it? The scene I caused was much grander. But considering it's an artistic dramatization, I'll give it a passing grade."
"I came here to fight. Why must I watch these clowns jumping around?" Khorne slammed his axe heavily onto the ground. "When do we start the slaughter?"
Slaanesh, however, quite enjoyed the atmosphere. "Do not be in such a hurry. Our Great Game has gone on for so long; can we not spare a little time for this? I see these lovely little Aeldari have no intention of stopping the show."
Yuno had enough. "I say, can you two settle down? Don't forget that the power you've projected here is inferior to mine!"
Yuki waved a hand toward the stunned Harlequins on stage. "Continue with the next act."
None of the Aeldari dared to move. They performed in the name of the Laughing God, Cegorach, who personally guarded their souls, but performing in front of the actual Slaanesh was something no one in the galaxy had ever done.
"Stop being ridiculous," Slaanesh said, sounding bored. "Every performance of every Harlequin Troupe is under my gaze. I've seen this play more times than I can count. Did you honestly believe you could hide from my eyes? Start the next act!"
When the troupe finished the play about the Fall of the Aeldari Empire, Yuki clapped again. Of the four entities, he was the only one cheering. Khorne looked grim, Slaanesh had seen enough, and Yuno didn't want to smile in front of the two guests.
"Alright, continue. What else have you prepared?"
"We... we still have the Aeldari Mythological cycle."
"No need for that," Slaanesh interrupted. "If you want to hear Aeldari myths, just go to Nurgle's garden and ask Isha. Of course, it would be best if you could take me along."
Slaanesh's ulterior motives were so loud that even Terra could hear them.
"Boring," Khorne grunted. "The Aeldari are boring, their gods are boring. Only Khaine could put up a fight, but even he was too fragile. More slaughter! More skulls!"
This was likely the most difficult audience to please in the universe. If they were unsatisfied, they truly possessed the power to torment someone for eons.
The Harlequin Troupe faced unprecedented pressure. In the critical moment, it was Yuki who broke the deadlock.
"Do you know the plays of other races? You must have gathered other stories over the years."
"Is there something specific you wish to see?" the Troupe Master asked.
An idea suddenly struck Yuki. "Can you perform The Centaur, Thirty Years?" (Note: Referring to the Horus Heresy).
Khorne stopped grumbling. "Good. I agree. Father and son at war—now that's exciting!"
Slaanesh was also delighted. "Heehee, if Horus had actually succeeded, I wouldn't have minded giving up my temple to the Human Emperor!"
Yuno added, "Now that is what I want to see!"