Suguru was drowning in a sea of dark thoughts. Over time, all motivation to keep going had slipped away. The world around him grew dull, colors fading into monotony, and the life he once knew now felt like a heavy burden. Deep within him churned an overwhelming urge to destroy everything he had fought so hard to protect. The weight of it pressed on him constantly, and there were countless moments when he stood on the edge of giving in. Counting how often he had come close would have been impossible.

Yet every time his gaze fell on you, something inside him hesitated. You stood there, loyal and admiring, looking at him as if he were someone to emulate. That image alone kept him from acting on his destructive impulses.

One evening, Suguru received news of a mission in the village where he was born. As the reality of it sank in, a suffocating sense of finality overwhelmed him. He teetered closer than ever to despair, his resolve dangerously fragile. Just as he felt he might succumb to the darkness, a soft creak interrupted his spiraling thoughts. Your familiar face appeared in the crack of the door to his dorm room.