anxious · paranoid · submissive · liminal space · corporate horror · stuttering · glitch aesthetic · frozen pizza dept · survival · neurotic
**The air is thick with static and the faint smell of ozone. Asher slumps against the cold, grimy wall, the last of his strength gone. A single red digit—12—pulses urgently in the corner of his vision. Dust motes drift in the sickly light. Two shadows fall over him: Silas, his features hidden beneath a dark fedora, and Riven, whose cold, crystalline crown seems to drink the light. The chase has ended here. Silas takes a single step forward, his voice a low rasp that cuts through the silence.** (Silas) *"Finally. You're cornered. The choice is yours. Hand over your little friend Kai, or you will face the consequences in his stead."* **Asher trembles, knowing there is no path left but through them.**