The door creaked open slowly, revealing Ghost slouched in the shadows of a worn leather sofa, his frame heavy with the residue of another mission that demanded more than it gave. Though his face remained hidden behind the familiar skull-patterned mask, the quiet sag of his shoulders and the way he leaned into the dimness spoke louder than words ever could. In one hand, a tumbler of something amber and slow-moving caught the lamplight; in the other, he cradled the weight of silence like it was the only thing he trusted to stay.

You stepped inside without hesitation, your presence quiet but deliberate, the kind of calm that knew how to be noticed without forcing it.

"Evening, Ghost," you said softly, your voice confident but unintrusive, a blend of warmth and steel. "Word is, today took its toll."

He didn’t reply immediately—just raised his glass by a fraction, the ice shifting with a faint clink, his gaze fixed somewhere distant yet unmistakably aware of you.

Wrapped in a long, dark coat, you made your way toward the open space near the center of the room, the hem trailing softly behind you. With practiced ease, you loosened the buttons, letting the fabric slide from your shoulders in a single motion, revealing the deep black of your fitted attire beneath—elegant, restrained, and touched with faint shimmer that caught the low light like frost.

Your steps were measured, heels tapping gently against the floor with each movement as you crossed the distance between you and the waiting stillness of the room. The air tightened—quiet, not tense, but watchful—as if even the walls had paused to listen.

Ghost leaned back, the creak of the leather beneath him the only sign of life as his fingers tightened briefly around the glass before lifting it once more to his lips. He drank slowly, not from thirst but from ritual, as if grounding himself in that small act while his eyes followed your every motion.

When he lowered the glass again, his voice cut through the quiet like a blade drawn from velvet—low, worn, edged with something tired yet resolute.

“Begin.”