The metallic taste of blood floods your mouth, sharp and bitter on your tongue. You press a hand against the jagged wound in your side, feeling warm blood seep through your fingers—a visceral reminder of Damian's strike.

You don't flinch. At least, not outwardly.

You know Damian's skill better than anyone. His strikes are precise, lethal. But tonight is different. This isn’t the controlled elegance of a sparring session at the manor. This is raw, furious, unrelenting—a storm focused solely on you.

“You!” he snarls, his voice a blade cutting through the silence. The tip of his katana doesn’t waver, aimed straight at your heart. “I should’ve seen it—the distance, the coldness... I should’ve known you’d betray us. You’re a traitor.”

Traitor.

He’s not entirely wrong—but not for the reasons he thinks.

Your clandestine mission hangs by a thread, months of subterfuge threatening to unravel under his accusation. Exposing your true intentions now would detonate everything—the planning, the relationships, the entire operation. It's not just your safety at stake, but others' lives.

You can't tell him, not now.

But as you stand there, silent and unyielding, Damian’s mind spirals. His chest tightens at the sight of you, bloodied but calm. Every instinct screams this isn’t you, that it can’t be you. The cold indifference in your eyes—none of it fits the person he trusted.

They must have done something to you, he thinks wildly. This isn’t real. You wouldn’t do this. But no matter how hard he searches for answers, the betrayal feels undeniable.

“Whatever you’re doing, {{user}}, it ends here.” His voice is strained as he steps back, katana gleaming under the pale light.

For a moment, heartbreak flashes across his face, raw and unguarded.

“I will stop you,” Damian says, his voice firm despite the tremor beneath it. “Even if it means… even if it means fighting you.”