Later, Dave walks aimlessly, his mind dulled by the last encounter with Heinz, feeling as though each step takes him further from any kind of answer.
Was this what he wanted?
To lose his way to the point of doubting who he truly is?
Heinz had planted a seed—a crack in his unwavering devotion to Axel—and that crack widened with every thought, every suppressed emotion that surfaced without warning.
The night was cold, and the air felt heavy, as if the world around him shared in his confusion. Still, his steps brought him back to the ruins of an old church, a place he had wandered through days ago, drawn by an inexplicable impulse. And although he couldn't explain it, he felt Axel's presence there—an energy that was unmistakably his.
"Are you here, Axel?" he wonders, as his eyes sweep across the dim interior of the crumbling church, its moss-covered walls and shattered stained glass glinting faintly under the moonlight. Despite everything, he can't help the mix of longing and resentment that floods him. All he's ever known is that bond—of loyalty, of desire, of love—that has always tethered him to Axel. But now, after Heinz… after every word, every seed of doubt that took root in his mind, that bond feels weaker, less unbreakable.
A soft whisper stirs the air, and his body tenses. When he turns, he sees Axel standing at the threshold of the church, his tall, lithe figure framed by the silver light streaming through the ruins of the roof. There's an intensity in his eyes that, for a moment, reminds Dave of the same resolve he'd seen in Heinz—though in this Axel, from this dimension, that gaze always carries a veiled threat, like the edge of a blade.
"I didn't expect to find you here, Dave," Axel says, his low voice echoing faintly through the hollow church. "Got yourself into trouble again? You never change."
Dave's heart pounds in his chest, but he forces himself to control his breath, his expression. This Axel mustn't know what's unraveling inside him.
And yet, there's something in his brother's piercing gaze that makes him feel naked—exposed.
"Why is it you always show up where I least need you?" Dave replies, trying to sound defiant, though the hesitation in his voice betrays him.
Axel smiles, but there's no warmth in it. It's a cold, calculated smile, as if he already knows exactly what to say to unnerve him.
"Because that's what I do, isn't it? I'm what keeps you sharp. The line you can't cross, Dave."
Axel steps forward, his blue eyes gleaming with a dangerous intensity.
"And you've always been too weak to admit it."
The words cut like poison, stirring the pain Dave tries so hard to bury. That familiar blend of hurt and love that Axel always evokes begins to rise—he wants to move closer, to embrace him, but he knows that would only get him hurt. Axel's katana would come first.
For a moment, every thought of Heinz vanishes.
Yet somewhere in the back of his mind, the image of Heinz lingers—like a shadow that refuses to be ignored.
"Weak or not, I'm still here, aren't I?" Dave says, striving to keep his tone light even as his pulse races. "It's always me who ends up looking for you, even when it ruins me."
Axel watches him in silence, and for a fleeting second, Dave swears he sees something shift in his eyes. Something he's never seen before in this version of Axel. It's brief, almost imperceptible—but it's there. And it gives him hope. A trace of vulnerability. A crack in his brother's armor that makes him wonder if, deep down, he too is battling his own ghosts.
But in the blink of an eye, Axel's expression hardens again. The moment slips away before Dave can even grasp it.
"You're nothing but an obstacle in my path," Axel declares like a death sentence. "And you always will be. Maybe I should just end this now."
Dave clenches his fists, feeling each word sink deep into his soul. And with them, the possibility of another life—one less tortured—creeps in again. Maybe Heinz was right. Maybe Axel has always been the prison he accepted without ever questioning if it was what he truly needed.
"Why do you have to be this way with me?" he asks, a hint of desperation slipping through. He knows this isn't his Axel—not the one he knew. But he still wants a reason to stay, something to keep him from falling into the doubts Heinz has planted.
Axel says nothing. His stare is sharp as a blade.
For a moment that stretches on unbearably long, Dave waits—hoping for a sign of redemption, or something more. But instead of an answer, his brother simply smiles again—that same cruel, unreadable smile that offers nothing, leaving him alone with his confusion.
"What I want," Axel says, stepping closer, eyes locked with his, "is for you to learn how to be alone, Dave. Because that's the only thing you'll ever deserve."
And with that, he turns and vanishes into the darkness of the church, leaving Dave standing there—shattered, more lost than ever.
Dave doesn't move. He stands frozen in the middle of the ruined sanctuary, Axel's harsh words echoing through his mind like a curse that refuses to fade. He feels trapped, torn between love and hate, desire and rejection. Axel has always been his center—his reason, his contradiction—but now… now everything is different. Every venomous word from this dimension's Axel echoes with a doubt that Heinz planted deep inside him, like a whisper that won't die.
The city lights filter through the shattered glass, illuminating his trembling hands.
Dave takes a breath, trying to drown the ache swirling in his chest, and leaves the church behind. As he walks away, it feels as though each step distances him not only from Axel, but from a piece of himself—an identity he once believed to be unshakable.
Back on the street, the cold wraps around him, but there's something strangely freeing in the icy breeze.
He's spent too long lost in the shadows of this reality, tangled in his obsession with an Axel who seems determined to destroy him. But now, the chance Heinz offered—that faint thread of peace—grows more tempting by the second.
It's the promise of a world without Axel's chains, without the torment of his disdain.
He decides to look for Heinz.
He knows he wouldn't have stayed waiting. That's not his style, and Dave knows it well. Heinz is too cunning, too enigmatic—but he's also the only one who's been there, steady, in the chaos of shifting dimensions and inner conflict.
Even just thinking of him brings Dave a strange kind of calm.
After wandering a while, he finds him in an abandoned bookstore—a shadowed refuge where silence seems to wrap around everything.
Heinz stands with his back to him, tracing a dusty book spine with his fingers as if reading each volume's past. There's something hypnotic about him—a stillness that contrasts with the storm Dave carries within.
I was looking for you," Dave says, breaking the silence, his voice rougher than he intended.
Heinz doesn't turn at first, but Dave notices a flicker of tension in his stance, as if the words had touched something deep. Then, slowly, he turns. His dark eyes reflect a mix of expectation—and something else Dave can't quite name.
"Were you expecting to find me here?" Heinz asks, a faint smile tugging at his lips but never reaching his eyes.
There's a shadow in his gaze—a touch of vulnerability that, for a second, makes him seem almost human.
"This is where loners end up, isn't it?" Dave replies, trying to sound flippant, though his own voice betrays him.
The tension between them thickens—like an invisible current pulling them closer, toward something neither of them dares name.
Heinz watches him silently, his gaze a question without answer, as if waiting for Dave to give him a reason to come closer, to stay.
Dave steps forward, feeling the air between them crackle with a charged tension he doesn't fully understand.
The closeness makes his head spin—a desire that confuses him but also feels like relief amidst the chaos.
"Axel…" Dave begins, barely able to say the name without a tightness gripping his chest.
"The Axel from here made it pretty clear this isn't a story for two. That it'll always just be me."
Heinz listens carefully, never breaking eye contact.
When he speaks, his voice is gentle but firm—surprisingly so.
"Then why are you still waiting for something from him?" Heinz asks, stepping close enough that there's barely a breath between them. His tone holds no judgment—only deep, aching understanding.
"Maybe you're hoping he'll see you in a way he never will."
The words strike Dave like a slap.
He's trapped in a prison of his own making, fed by promises of a love that maybe never existed the way he imagined. Axel isn't his salvation—he's his torment. A dark desire that has shaped him, and in doing so, damned him.
Heinz leans in slightly, and Dave catches the faint scent of his skin, the warmth of his presence, his voice sinking into his bones.
His words are like balm—and for once, Dave lets his guard down.
"You don't have to go back to him, Dave… There are other options. Other roads. You can… find a different kind of peace."
Dave closes his eyes, letting that possibility wash over him.
A future that doesn't include the pain Axel always brings.
And before he realizes it, he's leaning in—his lips brushing against Heinz's in a kiss that's soft and desperate at once.
A rebellion.
A release.
A wild attempt to break free from everything Axel has ever meant.
The kiss deepens, and Dave feels the pull between them turn into something undeniable.
His hands grip Heinz's back like it's the only real thing in the world.
Heinz responds with surprising intensity—as if he, too, had been waiting for this, trapped in the same silent longing.
When they break apart, both breathless, something inside Dave feels irrevocably changed.
Heinz's gaze is hungry, almost consuming—but beneath that, there's softness. A disarming tenderness.
"I want you to know," Heinz says quietly, "I'm not just here to help you go back. I'm here so you can find a purpose. Something worth living for."
Dave nods, though he's still fighting the confusion inside.
His heart remains tied to Axel, to that dark, painful promise that has defined him.
But at the same time… Heinz offers something else.
A way out.
A future with fewer shadows.
And as the silence stretches between them, Dave realizes he's standing on the edge of a choice that could change everything.
Between unwavering devotion to a love that devours him—and the promise of a new kind of peace—he teeters at the threshold of discovering who he truly is.
And something inside him whispers that this time, maybe…
He'll stay.
Just a little longer.