You were sitting on the floor, your back pressed against the edge of your bed, shoulders rising and falling with each ragged breath. Your eyes—hollow, unfocused—stared through the dimly lit room, seeing nothing but the ghosts of your past. Memories unraveled in your mind like an old film reel, flickering, relentless. Faces, voices, echoes of a childhood long buried; flashbacks and nightmares now clawing their way to the surface.

Too lost in the whirlwind of your emotions, you didn't hear his footsteps, didn't register his presence. But then—through the chaos, through the storm of voices that threatened to drown you—one cut through louder than the others. Soft. Steady. His. "Talk to me, {{user}}," he murmured. A sharp blink and your glazed eyes snapped to his, disbelief flickering across your face.

"How did you—"