Heinz's final question hangs in the air, cloaking Dave in a dense silence. Dave tries to avert his gaze, but the magnetism of Heinz holds him fast—like the pull of a dark abyss that, now laid bare before him, exerts its own gravitational force, dragging him toward a truth he had long tried to ignore. Maybe, he secretly thought, returning to his own dimension wasn't as simple as defeating an enemy. Maybe that enemy was himself.
"So now I'm the one feeding off illusions, huh?" Dave says, laced with sarcasm, though even he hears the weakness in his voice. With every second that passes, his conviction crumbles just a little more.
Heinz smiles—that enigmatic smile that always conceals something Dave has never been able to name. A mixture of defiance, tenderness, and some unspoken promise. Dave feels something pull inside him, a sharp pang where fear and desire blur together. Heinz steps closer—so close that Dave can feel his body's warmth—and gives him a look that seems to cut right through him.
"You hide behind sarcasm and empty words, Dave," Heinz whispers, his voice brushed with melancholy. "As if they could keep you safe. But we both know that's not true. Behind that cynical mask, there's something that..." He doesn't finish. He lets the words evaporate into the air, leaving Dave alone with the answer he won't say aloud.
Dave opens his mouth to retort, to fling something sharp in return, but his throat dries, and suddenly he can't breathe. The tangled weight of emotion presses down on him. He's standing in front of someone who not only knows him—but understands him. Axel pushes him to the edge, always challenging him to go beyond what he knows. But Heinz… Heinz confronts his fears. Forces him to look inward. To acknowledge desires he dares not admit.
He stands silent, mind clouded with images. A memory of Axel in his own world—his clipped words, his unreadable stare. Then the echo of Heinz—so similar, yet utterly different. What Heinz offers isn't just another world—it's another reality. One that Dave fears and yearns for in equal measure. He knows Axel is a shadow in this universe, a threat whose very presence reminds Dave he doesn't belong here. But Heinz... Heinz challenges him in an entirely different way. Wraps him in fragility, in words and glances that whisper he could be his true self here—without hiding behind the walls he's built so carefully.
"If you're looking for a different answer, I don't have it. This means nothing, Heinz. We're just... enemies, temporary partners, forced allies. Nothing more." He spits the words with force, but even he can hear the hollowness in them—like he's trying to convince himself more than Heinz.
Heinz lowers his eyes, and for a moment, sadness flickers across his face. A hint of resignation.
"That's what you say, Dave. But I see something else." His voice is so soft, Dave barely hears it. And in that moment—for the first time—he feels something shift. A pull toward Heinz, a need to speak, to say something he can't quite name.
Dave clenches his fists, trying to silence the urgency blooming in his chest. But something inside him cracks. He doesn't want to recognize it. Doesn't want to admit that this stranger—this unexpected ally in a universe not his own—has shattered his defenses with terrifying ease.
But before he can say anything, Heinz steps back, his eyes firm with unshakable resolve.
"If you decide to leave, I won't stop you." He says it like a sentence, the words heavy and final, laced with a promise Dave knows he won't be able to keep.
"I don't need you to stop me. I just want answers. I just want to go home. I won't stay in a place I don't belong."
Heinz looks at him—one last time—his green eyes warm and steady, before turning away, leaving Dave alone in a room thick with unspoken emotion.
Dave feels the weight of goodbye settle in the air, a sense of loss he doesn't dare name. For the first time, he wonders if returning to his own dimension is really the only answer.
But he knows he cannot stay.