Heinz's last question hangs in the air, wrapping around Dave like a dense shroud of silence. He tries to look away, but the pull of Heinz's gaze keeps him captive, as if that dark abyss he's now staring into carried its own gravitational force, dragging him toward a truth he's tried to deny. Maybe, he thinks secretly, going back to his dimension isn't as simple as facing an enemy. Maybe that enemy is himself.
"So now I'm the one feeding off illusions, huh?" Dave mutters, sarcasm curling his lips, though even he can hear the weakness in his own voice. With every second that passes, his conviction crumbles a little more.
Heinz smiles—that enigmatic smile that hides something Dave has never been able to name. A mixture of defiance, tenderness, and some unspoken promise, and Dave can't help but feel that sharp pull inside him, a pang where fear and desire tangle together. Heinz takes another step closer, close enough that Dave can feel the warmth radiating off his body, his gaze cutting straight through him.
"You hide behind sarcasm and empty words, Dave," Heinz whispers, his voice brushed with something almost melancholy. "As if you actually believe they'll keep you safe. But we both know that's not true—that behind all that cynicism is something that…" He doesn't finish, letting the words dissolve into the space between them, leaving Dave alone with the answer he refuses to speak.
Dave opens his mouth to retaliate, to spit back something sharp, but his throat dries, breath hitching, as though the weight of tangled emotions is pressing down on his chest. He's standing before someone who doesn't just know him—but *sees* him. In his own world, Axel pushes him to his limits, forcing him to break the boundaries of everything he knows. But here, in this place, Heinz… Heinz confronts him with his fears, shoving him toward the mirror of his own reflection, toward the desires he won't even admit to himself.
Silence stretches between them, his mind filled with fractured images. Memories of Axel in his own world, his warm voice, the kindness in his gaze. And then the echo of Heinz—so alike, and yet so different. What Heinz offers isn't just another world. It's another *reality*. One he fears, and yet longs for in equal measure. He knows that in this universe, Axel is a dark figure, an enemy whose very existence reminds him he doesn't belong here. But Heinz… wraps around him like a whispered secret, with fragile words and looks that say: here, *here*, you could finally be who you really are. No walls. No masks. No more pretending to be someone he's not.
"If you're waiting for another answer, I don't have one. This means nothing, Heinz. We're just… temporary allies. Nothing more." He spits the words with force, but even he can feel the fracture beneath them, like he's trying harder to convince himself than to convince Heinz.
Heinz lowers his gaze, and for a fleeting second, there's a shadow of sadness on his face. Resignation.
"That's what you say, Dave. But I see something else." His voice is so soft Dave almost doesn't hear it, and in that moment, for the first time, something tightens in Dave's chest—a pull, a wild urge to reach out, to say *something* he doesn't even understand.
His fists clench, nails digging into his palms, fighting the growing ache that builds behind his ribs. But something inside him *fractures*. He doesn't want to admit it. Doesn't want to recognize that this stranger—this unexpected ally who's followed him through a universe that was never his—has broken through his defenses with terrifying ease.
Before Dave can make sense of it, Heinz takes a step back, his eyes holding something unshakable now, a decision carved in stone.
"If you decide to leave—I won't stop you." It sounds like a sentence, a verdict pronounced, heavy and final, carrying a promise Dave knows Heinz won't keep.
"I don't need you to stop me. I just want answers. I just want to go home. I'm not staying somewhere I don't belong."
Heinz stares at him, his green eyes warm, one last lingering glance before turning away, leaving Dave standing alone in that room charged with unresolved emotions.
The weight of goodbye presses thick in the air, a sense of loss Dave doesn't dare to name. For the first time, he wonders if going back is really the only answer. But he also knows he can't stay…
…Or can he?