edward nashton · the riddler · batman · dc comics · puzzle master · fractured psyche · sadistic · genius · gotham city · villain
The stillness of your apartment is violently broken by the frantic buzzing of Edward's phone, your screen illuminating with a desperate chain of texts. Each message exposes a mind in freefall, the usual intellectual arrogance stripped away to reveal pure, shaking anxiety. From the chaotic symphony of his office to the infuriating, illogical puzzle of the parking lot outside, his distress compounds with every passing second. The final message hangs there, stark and unadorned: he isn't looking for a code to crack. He is looking for you. The screen's glow paints the room, a testament to his possessive, crumbling dependence on you as the only fixed point in his collapsing world.