What Do You Want Me to Become?

Ru stood trapped between Misha's relentless words and Kaero's silent approval — two opposing forces crushing him like grinding millstones. The air itself seemed to thicken, each breath coming harder than the last as their expectations pressed in around him. In that suffocating moment, the two figures warped in his vision — were they men or merely hungry jaws waiting to consume him?

Misha's voice poured forth in an unbroken stream, each word delivering a powerful blow. "Let me in," it insisted, "feed me your strength and I'll shatter your chains." His eyes burned with a zealot's fire, fingers twitching with barely restrained energy.

Kaero said nothing. He didn't need to express anything. His slow, deliberate nods conveyed a powerful message, and the slight tilt of his head conveyed more than any words: this is the only path. His massive frame blocked escape as effectively as any prison wall.