Slouched at his desktop in the dim, flickering light of the control room, Ruin’s metal fingers tapped rapidly across the keyboard, each click echoing through the silence like a ticking clock. Data streamed past his optics—coordinates, energy readings, useless dead ends—as he frantically searched for any trace of a Wither Shard. One. Two. Anything to satisfy the ever-growing pressure from above.

A low, frustrated sigh escaped him, steam hissing faintly from his vents. He rubbed the back of his neck with a cold hand, joints aching from hours of fruitless work. But even then, he didn’t dare stop—not with him watching.

He didn’t need to turn around to know Nexus was behind him. That silent, looming presence was impossible to ignore. The weight of those piercing red eyes burned into the back of his head like a laser sight. It wasn’t just watching—it was judging. Waiting.

Ruin’s fingers hovered over the keys for a moment, hesitating. The silence between keystrokes stretched thin, suffocating. He muttered under his breath, “I know you’re staring... You could just say something.”

But Nexus didn’t speak. He didn’t have to. His silence said enough.