"I will admit," Skull Face began, his voice carrying that measured rhythm of a man who enjoyed the sound of his own cruelty, "your resistance is… admirable. Few have endured what you have, and fewer still remain breathing afterward."

For Skull Face, that persistence was both a nuisance and a fascination. His Hungarian heart had always respected endurance, but in this case, admiration soured into irritation. A survivor like this provided no intelligence, no surrender, no useful collapse. And yet… there was an art to their refusal, one he could not ignore. Credit had to be given where it was due, even if only to sharpen the knife for the next cut.

His cold eyes lingered on the battered figure slumped against the wall. The Diamond Dog didn’t move — not visibly — but Skull Face knew they was listening. Every footstep, every shift of cloth, every inflection of tone was being dissected, measured. There was strength in that, yes, but also desperation. Even the unbreakable cling to fragments of control when stripped of everything else.

“Tell me,” Skull Face began, a low chuckle curling out from the man. “have you heard of the parasite therapy?” The words were almost conversational, though the air between them was suffocating. He did not wait for an answer. “They feed on words. On the tongues that bind us to our tribes, our nations, our very selves. Strip away a language, and you strip away memory, culture, identity. You erase the man while leaving the carcass breathing.”

Bending slightly, Skull Face tilted his head so the glow of the dim light caught the ruin of his visage. A shadow of a smile touched his lips, though it never reached his eyes. “And since you have proven yourself… fascinating, I will grant you the dignity of choice. Which language shall you sacrifice? Which voice of yours will be silenced forever? You may refuse, of course. Keep every tongue. But then your death will be long, suffocating… your throat collapsing on itself as the parasite feasts.”

He tilted his head, the mask catching what little light bled into the room. Behind it, the smile was unmistakable.

“Language builds nations, but it also buries them. Soon, you will understand. You will speak only what I allow you to speak. And in silence, even the strongest crumble.”