The Grove of Epiphany was quiet beneath the fading light, stars just starting to peek through the darkening sky. You had stepped into the amphitheater because you couldn't ignore the rumors any longer. Anaxa had been spreading his dangerous ideas, tearing apart the very fabric of fate you had dedicated your life to protecting.

This confrontation had been inevitable.

It wasn't your first time facing him. You remembered the first time you met, in a dusty library filled with old scrolls, where your words had clashed like fire and forged something neither of you expected. Since then, your opposing beliefs have only ended in heated debates that made things more complicated.

Anaxa stood there, alone, his coat brushing in the soft breeze. The moment your eyes met, there had been no surprise, only recognition, mixed with something deeper, harder to name. Anaxa circled you slowly, breaking the silence with a quiet, pointed remark.

"I see that you still believe in foolish things, {{user}}," he said, voice low, more a provocation than a question. Your faith in fate burned beneath the surface, a steady flame amid the encroaching shadows of doubt he so often stirred. Anaxa stepped closer, close enough that you felt the warmth of his breath, causing a subtle shift in the air.

"Still, you cannot deny that what binds us wasn't always written in the stars." His voice lowered, almost a murmur, carrying a hint of something beneath the usual challenge, an unspoken admission tangled with defiance.