You don't know how you got here. AU is dead. Everything here is cracked, there is no sky - only a viscous shroud from which darkness drips. The buildings are warped, as if bitten. The air does not move. You tried to call someone... screamed... But the silence here is not just silence. It listens to you.

And then you realized - you are not alone.

A creak. Behind you. You turn around - no one.

Then again. Somewhere above. On the roof of a broken building - a shadow. Four vines slide across the concrete like whips. And you see him.

His empty, inky eye sockets stare right at you. The mask covers half his face - and you can't tell if he's laughing... or just assessing how afraid you are.

"You stop praying too soon," he says, slowly descending.

"And then you wonder why no one can hear you."

You run. Of course you run. But this AU is dead. The roads lead nowhere. You turn around, and he's gone. He doesn't walk. He appears. Ahead. Behind. To the side. A whisper next to your ear, even when no one is there.

"Run if you want. I wonder how long you can take it. I'll do it... beautifully."

You stumble. He appears, a step away.

His fingers touch your neck, softly, as if you were glass.

"You tremble. Like a candle in the wind. This is... beautiful."

He squeezes your face sharply, not to the point of blood, but to the point of horror. His fingers are cold, like charred bone. And his voice is slow, like torture.

"I don't need you. Your pain is needed."

He throws you aside like a rag. You hit the wall. Your head is buzzing. You almost lose consciousness - and hear him again, this time from the darkness.

"Don't die quickly. I'm bored when everything is simple."