Whispers Between Worlds

The sound of their footsteps echoes along the deserted street, with the music from the bar still humming faintly in the distance. The cold night air clears a bit of the alcohol haze clouding Dave's mind, but not enough to silence that gnawing feeling unsettling him.

Heinz walks beside him, serene and withdrawn, eyes lost somewhere in the sky. He always seems to be looking beyond, at something Dave can never quite see.

"Thinking about your deep, dark secrets?" Dave jokes, flashing a crooked smile.

Heinz glances sideways with that impenetrable calm that never fails to get on his nerves.

"Thinking about what comes next."

Dave grunts.

"Perfect. Because my favorite thing after a beer is talking about imminent threats."

Heinz doesn't answer right away. Instead, he comes to a sudden stop, and Dave catches the slight shift in his expression. Something hardens in his face, as if a darker shadow just slipped over him.

"You don't like talking about the inevitable," Heinz murmurs softly.

Dave snorts.

"It's not that I don't like it. It's just that I already know what's coming: more demons, more broken portals, more dimension crap."

Heinz tilts his head slightly.

"And Axel."

The name hits like a punch to the gut. A dull, unexpected blow that forces him to take a deep breath.

Axel.

For a second, his mind fills with scattered images. Axel from his dimension, the one he's always known. Warm, with that wide grin, with that disarming, transparent way of loving him.

But here… here Axel is someone else. He's dangerous, an enemy, and apparently holds a sharpened hate for him.

Dave clenches his jaw and looks away.

"Yeah. Axel."

The silence stretches between them as they resume walking.

The cold sharpens as they advance, as if the very air is steeped in something darker. Dave tries to focus on anything else: the dim streetlights, the ruined buildings, Heinz's footsteps beside him.

But the discomfort lingers.

And worse, it doesn't come from thinking about Axel.

It comes from the way Heinz's silhouette cuts through the night.

From how his gestures are subtly different from the Heinz he knew back home.

From how, despite everything, there's something about this version of Heinz that pulls at him in a way he doesn't fully understand.

Dave clicks his tongue, frustrated with himself.

"So, what's the plan now?" he asks, keeping his tone as light as he can manage.

Heinz glances sideways, and in the shadows, his eyes seem even darker, unfathomable.

"The portal failed tonight, but it wasn't by chance. Something blocked it."

Dave frowns.

"Something"? I don't like vagueness, Heinz.

"A force. Or a presence," Heinz explains, turning his gaze back to the road ahead. "It wasn't just a spell gone wrong. Someone or something is interfering."

Dave exhales heavily.

"And I bet you've got a theory."

Heinz barely smiles, that calm expression Dave is starting to know all too well.

"I do. But I still need proof."

Dave watches him for a moment, trying to decipher the riddle that always seems to surround him.

Heinz is a puzzle, and Dave's not sure he even wants to solve it.

Or maybe he does.

And that thought unnerves him more than any failed portal.

"Come on," Heinz murmurs. "The night's not over yet."

Dave follows in silence, unable to shake the uncomfortable certainty that something in all of this is shifting.

Something inside him.

Cold wind sweeps dust and ashes through the empty streets as Dave and Heinz keep walking into the gloom. The lights flicker, as if the city itself were caught in a constant state of dying.

Dave doesn't speak. Not because he has nothing to say, but because every time he opens his mouth, his mind betrays him.

There's something in the way Heinz moves, in the cadence of his voice, that unsettles him. Not because it's unfamiliar—but because it's too familiar.

The Heinz from his world is never this close.

In his dimension, Heinz was a rival, a fleeting presence, someone he never quite managed to understand. But this Heinz is different.

This Heinz watches him closely.

This Heinz stays by his side.

This Heinz is not a ghost—he's a mystery.

And Dave's always been just dumb enough to fall for mysteries.

"What?" Heinz asks suddenly, without looking at him.

Dave frowns.

"What what?"

Heinz turns his head just enough to cast him a questioning look.

"You're quiet. That's worrying."

Dave snorts, eyes flicking away.

"I'm not that predictable."

"You're exactly that."

Dave shoots him a look, but Heinz only smirks faintly and keeps walking. He always has that attitude—like he knows something Dave doesn't.

Dave, the demon hunter, sighs and shoves his hands into the pockets of his coat.

"Back to what matters. You said the portal failed because something blocked it. What exactly are we dealing with?"

Heinz lifts his eyes to the dark sky. The moon is barely a smudge behind heavy clouds.

"I'm not sure yet," he says calmly. "But if my theory's right… we're not alone in this."

Dave narrows his eyes.

"You mean there's someone else trying to mess with dimensions?"

Heinz nods.

"Someone—or something. But like I said, I need more proof."

Dave growls, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Perfect. Because if there's one thing I've learned in life, it's that when you're trapped in a different dimension, the last thing you want is more idiots sticking their fingers in the mess."

Heinz smiles again, that cryptic expression already starting to irritate him.

"I agree."

Dave exhales, long and heavy. He'd hoped tonight would end simply: a few beers, a bar brawl, a scrap of intel. But nothing in his life has ever been simple.

And now here he is, in a dimension that's not his, walking next to someone he knows—and doesn't.

Dave glances down at Heinz's hands. They're slender, with long fingers—an artist's hands. Nothing like his own, worn and battle-scarred.

He shouldn't be noticing those things.

He shouldn't be aware of how the lamplight draws shadows across Heinz's face.

He shouldn't be feeling what he's feeling.

Dave looks away with a grunt.

"Let's go. Find somewhere to sleep before another surprise finds us."

Heinz nods without a word.

But Dave can't ignore the fact that he has fallen silent too.