The light fades, and Dave drops to his knees on solid ground. He lifts his gaze and, to his surprise, sees the familiar details of his world—his reality: the buildings, the neon lights, the heavy air of his city. He's back. Or so it seems.
Heinz is beside him, but his expression is tight, distant. Dave watches him closely, trying to read what's running through his mind. Even though he's returned, he feels as if he's left something priceless behind in that dark, distorted dimension.
"We made it?" Heinz asks, though his voice makes it clear that the answer is painfully obvious.
Dave nods, but when he looks him in the eye, all he sees is a hollow he can't explain.
"I don't know whether to thank you or hate you for this," Dave mutters with a bitter laugh, half-joking, trying to dissolve the tension.
Heinz offers a faint smile, but his eyes are still heavy with the same sorrow that's followed him since the portal.
"Maybe it's best if we part ways here. Might make it hurt less."
Dave is about to answer when he feels a presence behind him—an energy too familiar to mistake. He turns, and there he is: Axel. In the flesh, with that intense gaze Dave had missed in the other world. Axel strides toward them with his usual confident, defiant step. But when his eyes land on Heinz, something in his expression shifts. Surprise flashes in them, as if he's seeing an intruder in his territory.
"So you're back, Dave. And I see you didn't come alone," Axel says, his voice cold and sharp.
The air thickens, tension mounting. Dave knows he'll have to explain everything, eventually.
Heinz, seeing Axel's expression, takes a step back—as if realizing, with quiet clarity, that his place in Dave's life has always been... temporary.
"Looks like I'm not needed here," he murmurs, resignation in his tone. "Dave, don't worry. I'm fine with this."
Before Dave can stop him, Heinz turns and walks away. In that moment, something heavy twists in Dave's chest—something he never expected to feel watching someone leave.
Axel watches him, not quite understanding what just happened, but there's a faint sneer playing at the edge of his lips.
"What's going on with you? You look like you're dragging more emotional baggage than usual."
Dave stands frozen, staring at Axel—but something feels off. That look. That voice. There's a chill to it that doesn't belong, a thread of hostility too precise. And though he's staring at his brother, a seed of doubt begins to grow in his mind.
Without breaking eye contact, Dave clears his throat and replies with the same defiant tone he's always used.
"Axel, tell me something…" he begins, not even sure what he's going to ask—but knowing he needs to test this "reality." "How long has it been since you last saw me?"
Axel's brow furrows, his features hardening. He tries to hide it, but Dave sees the flicker of confusion in his eyes. When Axel answers, his words are laced with a coldness Dave knows all too well—the same coldness he encountered in that other world, where Axel was just a twisted reflection of the real thing.
"Long enough for you to forget your priorities, Dave. You're still a fool—still your own worst enemy."
Dave feels the void inside him widen.
This can't be real.
This isn't his world either.
Another trick, another illusion keeping him from his true home.
Without another word, Dave turns and walks away. Leaves Axel standing in his own confusion. His brother's voice trails after him—harsh, wrapped in that same icy falsehood Dave can no longer mistake for truth.
"Where do you think you're going, Dave?"
"To find someone who owes me answers, Axel. I don't have time for your sermons."
The city around him holds everything he recognizes—every building, every shadow—but Dave knows that if he looks closely, the cracks will show. The tiny glitches that give the lie away. What he needs now is someone who's seen them too.
He needs Heinz.