You had been watching him for some time now—this stranger wrapped in shadow and smoke. There was something in the way he moved, deliberate and merciless, as if destruction were second nature. One by one, your village crumbled beneath his hand, flames licking the sky, screams lost to the wind.

You stood behind him, fists clenched at your sides, though they trembled.

And then—he turned.

His gaze swept over you, sharp and cold, as though sizing up a creature far beneath him. A flicker of curiosity passed across his face before amusement took its place.

"Hm?" he hummed, voice low and dripping with disdain. He tilted his head slightly, eyes gleaming.

"What, human—afraid?"