For Dave, the days in this dimension grow increasingly uncertain. Doubt creeps in like a slow poison—doubt of the ground beneath his feet, of his own sanity, and most of all, of Heinz. Their nightly encounters have become as routine as a recurring nightmare—one that keeps him awake, restless, never quite sure when, or if, he'll wake up.
Tonight, Heinz leads him to a ruined cathedral. The charred walls, blackened as if scorched by some ancient fire, exude a weight so dense even Dave feels it pressing against his chest. The breeze slipping through the cracks hums with a ghostly murmur, whispers that seem to utter names long forgotten, names that perhaps were never meant to be remembered.
Heinz stops at the center of the nave, where the marble floor is cracked as though an invisible force had tried to tear it apart from within. His figure stands elongated in the debris, a shadow carved by the faint light that filters through shattered stained glass, accentuating the sharp edges of his face. There's something unreal in the way the darkness clings to his skin, as if he isn't merely surrounded by it—but made of it.
"Here, in this place, I'll find the answers I need to bring you back," he says in a voice barely above a whisper. Yet his green eyes say something else entirely, gleaming with a supernatural intensity that cuts deeper than his words.
Dave follows, curiosity outweighing caution. Heinz has never been fully transparent about his intentions. And though he claims to want to help, there's something in the way he moves, the way he speaks, that keeps Dave perpetually on edge. Is he exploiting his vulnerability? Or is he simply enjoying the sight of him trapped in a world that isn't his own?
"Tell me something, Heinz," Dave begins, breaking the heavy silence. "Why are you really helping me? You don't exactly strike me as the altruistic type."
Heinz turns slowly, with the calculated grace of a predator sizing up its prey. His lips curl into a smile—measured, deliberate, like it was crafted for this exact moment.
"Maybe because *you* are a mystery to me too," he replies, voice like silk laced with threat. "You're not the Dave I know. You're darker. More… real."
His words slither through the ruins like a sweet poison. Dave narrows his eyes, suspicion battling with something far more dangerous—the magnetic pull Heinz exudes without trying.
"So you're attracted to darkness, then?" Dave shoots back, arms crossed in challenge. "Because where I come from, that darkness comes with a whole lot of destruction."
Heinz steps forward—slow, purposeful. The chill in the cathedral air contrasts sharply with the almost palpable heat radiating from his body. Dave's defiance wavers for a breath, the tension between them stretching taut like a wire ready to snap.
"Don't underestimate me, Dave," Heinz murmurs, his voice brushing across Dave's skin more intimately than the wind. "The darkness in me could devour even yours. But that shouldn't worry you… unless you plan to stay."
His voice is a caress of shadows, a threat wrapped in seduction. Dave realizes Heinz isn't just warning him—he's luring him in. Tempting him to cross a line from which there may be no return. And for a fleeting moment, the idea doesn't seem all that crazy.
He knows he should step away. Heinz is an enigma who toys with words, with emotions, with him. And yet, Dave doesn't move. He stays. There's something hypnotic in that gaze—something that draws him in even as it sets off every alarm.
Dave quirks a crooked smile, a weak attempt to reclaim control.
"Well, well… someone's getting a little too attached," he jokes, though the levity in his voice does little to mask the weight behind his words.
Heinz doesn't respond right away. He just watches him—half-smiling, half-promising something dangerous and forbidden. Then, without warning, he leans in, just enough for his breath to graze Dave's skin.
"What if I am?" he murmurs.
And then he walks away with the same maddening calm he always carries, leaving Dave there—alone with the echo of his words etched into his mind like a sin waiting to be committed.