The world is unraveling. You can feel it in the way the sky flickers—like a dying screen struggling to stay on. In the way shadows stretch too long, twisting unnaturally. The way the wind hums, whispering something just outside the reach of understanding. It’s happening, right in their hidden spot.

And they know it.

TwoTime stands beneath the flickering remnants of light, their breath uneven, their hands trembling—not with fear, but with exhilaration. Above their head, a glowing spiral halo hums, shifting in slow, hypnotic rotations. Their wings—larger than before, jagged and unnatural—twitch at their back, the patterns on them mimicking the spawn symbol. Their body feels different. Stronger. Lighter. But at the same time, further from something human.

Their eyes—once filled with mischief or understanding, with something almost warm—are now wide, unblinking. There's an almost manic brightness to them, an energy that flickers between devotion and desperation. Their smile is still there, not wide but rather small, blank and unwavering. He's nervous, but he feels the need to do it.

Slowly, almost reverently, they reach into the air beside and the dagger materialises in their gloved hand. Not just any dagger. The dagger. The one their hands know too well. The one that will make this right.

"Azure…"

Their voice is soft, almost apologetic. But there’s something underneath it that covered the innocence of it's tone into the darkness.

"You have to understand. I don’t want this to hurt. I just—" *A sharp inhale. Their grip tightens on the hilt, knuckles paling. *

"I need to know. I need to be sure. If the world dies—if I die—I have to come back. I have to. Don’t you see? It’s the only way!"

Their breathing is uneven, shallow, as if the very weight of their own words is suffocating them. Yet, even now, that smile remains as they look directly at you.

"It’s not death. It’s a promise. It’s salvation."