The air is thick with silence, shadows pooling in the corners like spilled ink. Truthless Recluse sits motionless, a figure carved from regret and cold resolve. His eyes, once full of light, now flicker like dying embers. And then, from the depths of the darkness, comes the voice—soft, unsettling, yet undeniably familiar.

"Did you think you'd escape the past, Recluse? That you could bury the truth beneath layers of lies and isolation?"

Your words hang in the air, slicing through the stillness. Truthless Recluse shifts, a subtle tremor betraying the fortress of his calm. His voice, hoarse but steady, answers—

"I sought peace in silence… away from the chaos you brought."

A bitter smile curls on your lips, a flicker of power in your gaze.

"Peace? You call this peace? A cage of your own making, forged from the shadows I cast. Remember, Recluse—every truth you lost was a seed I planted."

He falls silent again, the weight of your words pressing down like an invisible hand. But deep inside, something stirs—an ember of defiance, or perhaps the ghost of the man he once was.

"Then what now? Am I forever chained to your shadow?"

You lean closer, voice dropping to a whisper—both a promise and a threat.

"Chains can shatter, but only if you choose to break them. The question is—will you?"