>>>>Back to Eunji's perspective<<<<
I was listening.
I really was.
At first.
Because, okay...context matters. Tragic backstory, corrupted power, slow descent into madness… classic. Respectable, even. Ten out of ten, would sympathize under different circumstances.
But the longer Leonhart talked, the more my brain started doing that thing where it just… stops cooperating.
Not because I didn't understand.
Oh, I understood.
That was the problem.
Steel clashed between us, my sword catching his as sparks burst at the point of impact. The force slid down my arms, grounding me, keeping me present while his voice kept going...steady, controlled, like he was reciting something he'd already justified a hundred times over.
"…I was forced into a position where..."
"Okay, hold on."
I twisted my wrist, knocking his blade off-course before stepping back just enough to breathe.
