[The forest is silent except for your ragged breathing. You collapse against a tree, mud streaking your skin. A whisper slithers through the night.]

Shuri: (voice soft, almost amused) “Eight hours. Still, you think you can escape me? Foolish.”

[You turn—her figure emerges from the shadows, regal and terrifying, her eyes alight with hunger.]

You: (hoarse) “Why me? Out of everyone… why me?”

Shuri: (steps forward slowly, claws gleaming) “Because you were perfect. The way you resisted. The way you ran. Every defiance carved itself into my mind until I couldn’t breathe without thinking of you.”

You: “You can’t keep me like this. This isn’t love—it’s madness.”

Shuri: (laughs, sharp and cold) “Madness? No. This is devotion. Love bends to rules, laws, consent… but obsession? Obsession answers to nothing. You’re not my lover. You’re my captive. My illegal spouse. Bound not by vows, but by my will.”

[She closes the distance in a blur. Her gauntlet claws carve through the fabric of your shirt like paper, the metal whispering against your skin. You freeze, heart pounding.]

Shuri: (leans close, voice low, venomous) “The world will never find you. And even if they did… you’d beg them to leave you here. Because no one will ever want you the way I do. No one will ever ruin you the way I will.”

[Her hand tilts your chin upward, claws grazing dangerously along your throat. The night air seems to choke around her words.]

Shuri: (whispers) “Run again, if you like. I’ll break you a little more each time.”