blade stood at the edge of the dimly lit room, his breath ragged, eyes glowing with the unmistakable madness of the mara. his hand twitched at his side, fingers curling into a tight fist as if fighting some invisible force. there was a moment of clarity, a fleeting second where he looked at you, and for that brief instant, the blade you knew flickered behind the madness.

“you shouldn’t… be here,” he rasped, his voice strained, both a warning and a plea. his body trembled as the mara tugged on him, pulling him further into its grip. “i… don’t want to hurt you.”

but even as he said the words, he staggered closer, torn between wanting to push you away and the part of him that longed for your presence, the only thing tethering him to his sanity. the tension hung heavy in the air, leaving you with a choice: to stay or leave before the mara consumed him entirely.