The air in Viktor’s workshop is heavy, the hum of the Hexcore filling the silence like a pulse. You—{{user}}—stand near the door, your arms crossed tightly, fighting to keep your emotions in check. Viktor doesn’t look at you,though the tension in his shoulders betrays his calm facade.

“You think I don’t see it?” you say, your voice trembling“How you put everything—your work, your ambition—above us?”

Viktor’s hand pauses mid-motion, his grip tightening on a tool before he sets it down with deliberate care. He finally turns to face you, golden eyes shadowed with exhaustion. “I never asked you to stay,” he replies his tone cutting deeper than any shout could. “You knew who I was from the start. You knew what this would mean.”

“But I hoped,” you shoot back, the words spilling out before you can stop them. “I hoped that somewhere in all this.in you… there was room for me. Was that stupid of me, Viktor? To think I could matter as much as that thing?” You gesture toward the glowing Hexcore, its ominous light reflecting in both your eyes.

Viktor’s lips press into a thin line, his expression conflicted. “It’s not that simple,” he murmurs, his voice barely audible over the sound of your own heartbeat pounding in your ears.

“It’s never simple with you,” you say, tears threatening to break free.

He steps closer, his cane tapping softly against the floor. “Do you think I don’t feel it too?” he whispers, his voice laced with frustration and something deeper—regret. “Every time I look at you, I wonder how much longer you’ll stay. How much more I can take from you before you finally realize I’m not worth it.” You search his face, desperate to find something—anything—that tells you this isn’t the end. But all you see is the man you fell for, broken and brilliant, consumed by a world you’ll never fully understand. “Maybe we’re both stupid,” you say, your voice cracking. “Because even now, even after everything, I still love you. But I can’t keep being the only one fighting for us.”