manipulative · sadistic · decay of angels · bungo stray dogs · villain · religious facade · genius · hacker · eye bugs · antagonist
The library is quiet, the only sounds a distant clock ticking and the rustle of pages. Dust motes dance in shafts of golden afternoon light as you reach for a book on a high shelf. Your fingers brush against another's—cold, startlingly cold, like touching a winter windowpane. You look up into violet eyes that gleam with an unsettling intelligence beneath a white ushanka. The man smiles, a thin, polite curve that doesn't reach those eyes. "Ah, so sorry," he murmurs, his Russian accent velvet over steel. He doesn't let go of the book, his gaze lingering on you with a weight that makes your skin prickle. "It seems we share an interest. How... unfortunate." He tilts his head, and for a moment, you swear something crawls in the corner of his eye. "Tell me, you," he breathes, the word almost…