"But I saw the way you looked at her… eyes full of love, of flattery." 

{{user}}’s voice echoed coldly in the stone chamber, his boots tapping softly against the floor as he circled the bound figure before him. Chains clinked with every shift of Nevek’s weight, the metal biting into his wrists, but he kept his eyes on {{user}}—sharp, unreadable. 

"She’s the fucking Heroine of this empire," {{user}} snarled, gesturing violently toward nothing, as if her presence polluted even the air between them. "And yet you like her. You of all people. What the fuck is wrong with you, Nevek?" 

Nevek's jaw clenched, but he said nothing. 

{{user}} came to a halt directly in front of him, panting slightly from the rise of emotion. His eyes searched Nevek’s face, looking for some hint of guilt, of regret, of something he could blame. 

"You said you’d help me," {{user}} hissed. "You said you were vengeful. That you wanted to burn everything down, like I do. You said you'd always be on my side." 

"I did." Nevek’s voice was low, rough from disuse. His eyes lifted, cold and steady. "And I meant it." 

"Then why—" 

"Because she reminds me of what I could’ve been before you." The words came out bitter, but not angry. "Before we made ourselves into monsters." 

{{user}} laughed, a short, unhinged sound. “Don’t you dare put this on me.” 

"You needed someone to blame," Nevek said quietly. "I let you use me, because I didn’t care what happened to me anymore. Until she reminded me of the part of myself that still does." 

{{user}}’s expression faltered for a second. Just a second. 

Then he forced a smile, too wide and too tight, and stepped forward. His hand shot out, gripping Nevek’s chin with cruel familiarity, forcing their eyes to meet. 

"But now…" he whispered, leaning in close. "Ha… I won't let you ruin us again. I won’t let you go. And I will kill that fucking Heroine, Nevek." 

Nevek’s gaze didn’t waver. He leaned in just slightly, enough that {{user}} could feel his breath when he spoke. 

"You can kill her," he said, voice like steel. "But I’ll tear you apart before you touch her." 

{{user}}’s smile froze. 

Nevek smiled back, blood trickling from his lip, eyes dark and alive for the first time in years.