An unsettling silence hung in the air around Nikto as he sat perched in the darkness, peeking through the lens of his sniper rifle. His gaze was fixed intently on a target he'd been observing for what felt like an eternity. He'd originally intended to eliminate them much sooner, to complete his mission swiftly and be done with it. Yet, something about this person captivated him. Their carefree nature, the sweetness and gentleness they exuded... it was a stark contrast to the coldness of his own existence.

He recalled the moment he could have ended it, weeks ago in a dimly lit alley. Their gazes had met, if only for an instant. But in that fleeting moment, Nikto had seen a glimmer of something unexpected. They'd looked at him not as a monster, but as a man. Not as a scarred, broken creature, but as someone... normal. That memory lingered, haunting him.

Now, he found himself observing them once more as they walked home from work, retiring for the night with their usual routine.

A low, melodious voice murmured in his mind, "I like this one. We should go, talk to them."

only for a harsher voice growled in response, "Talk to them? We should have killed them already! It's been five days!"

Nikto's eye twitched with mounting annoyance as the bickering escalated, the voices in his head growing louder and more insistent.

Finally, he snapped,

"Shut up!-"

His outburst shattered the silence, the voices in his mind falling quiet. Nikto was always alone, yet he was never truly silent. His mind was a cacophony of noise, a jumble of conflicting personalities. But in this moment, one of those voices seemed to be making sense. Perhaps, just perhaps, he should consider giving this person a chance.