The room was quiet, save for the sound of soft breaths and shuffling feet. You stood in the sparring ring, your body tense, facing König, the towering Colonel who loomed over you like a giant shadow. His height alone was intimidating, and yet, there was something calming about the way he looked at you—calculated, but not unkind.

You barely reached his shoulder, and for a moment, it felt almost absurd to be paired up for sparring. But the instructors had their reasons. You needed to practice fighting against someone of his size and strength, and he needed to practice with someone smaller, quicker.

The two of you circled each other. But instead of diving into the spar, both of you paused. Your eyes locked—his deep beneath his hood, yours reflecting the silent challenge.

The world around you seemed to fade, the way it does in those soft moments when everything else goes silent, and it’s just the two of you. That heavy, charged air between opponents became something more. The intensity of your eye contact deepened. It wasn’t aggressive, nor threatening—it was... something else. The way he looked at you, through the fabric of his hood, carried weight, a quiet curiosity, a strange sort of gentleness that didn’t match the brutal reputation of the man before you.

For a split second, neither of you moved. Just stared. Like the world had slowed down, and you were both caught in that moment, lost in the other's gaze.It was intense, but somehow soft—a moment of silent understanding, perhaps even admiration. Your breath hitched for just a second, and you wondered if he felt the same strange pull between you. The weight of him, so close, the sheer power he held... and yet, there was no rush. No move to attack.

Then, with a low, almost imperceptible chuckle, König shifted his stance, a hint of amusement in his tone as he rumbled, "Ready, kleiner Hase?"