The air in the chamber grows thicker, nearly tangible. Dave keeps his eyes fixed on Heinz, trying to decipher the mix of defiance and restraint in his gaze. There's something he's hiding—something he refuses to reveal—and frustration begins to take its toll. He's about to press him, demand answers, but Heinz steps forward, closing the distance between them.
With precise movements, he draws complex lines with chalk over the stone floor. He does it with an almost ceremonial calm, as if each stroke holds hidden meaning. The underground mist thickens the air, making each breath feel heavier.
Dave watches in silence, leaning against a rough wall, arms crossed. He doesn't fully understand what Heinz is doing, but he knows it's dangerous. In this world, everything is.
"Don't look at me like that," Heinz says without looking up. "You look like a wolf stalking its prey."
Dave flashes a fleeting smile.
"Maybe I am."
Heinz lets out a dry chuckle, humorless. He straightens up slowly and dusts his fingers off with a distracted gesture.
"It's almost ready," he murmurs, examining his work with calculating eyes. "But the opening doesn't depend on me alone. This place… doesn't want to let us go."
Dave frowns.
"What does that mean?"
"That the rift between dimensions opens with chaos. With the will of those who cross it. And you…" Heinz looks at him, his intensity cutting like a blade.
"…still aren't sure what you really want."
Dave's muscles tense. He's not going to give him the satisfaction of a response.
Heinz steps away from the circle and vanishes into the shadows of the tunnel.
"If the portal doesn't open today, we'll have to wait for another cycle," he says quietly. "And each cycle in this world changes us. Shapes us in its own way."
"Trying to scare me?" Dave's voice comes out sharper than expected.
"I'm warning you."
The air hums with latent energy. A chill runs down Dave's spine, but he ignores it. He doesn't have time for doubt. No time to feel.
No time to think about how Heinz's presence affects him in ways that shouldn't matter.
The symbols begin to glow. Something stirs in the darkness.
Change is coming.
The air trembles. An invisible pressure builds in Dave's chest as he watches the symbols flicker with a sickly light. Something is happening. Something should happen.
But nothing does.
The glow dies like a candle snuffed out by the wind. The echo of silence is brutal.
Heinz frowns and steps forward, reaching cautiously toward the markings as if his presence alone could make them respond. The chalk stains on his fingers stand out starkly against the darkness. It's not working.
"What the hell did you screw up?" Dave breaks the silence, voice thick with frustration.
Heinz closes his eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply before answering with his usual calm.
"Nothing."
"Nothing? Because it looks like you scribbled a bunch of crap on the floor for nothing."
Heinz turns to him, and for the first time in ages, his eyes reveal something other than impassive indifference. There's a shadow of doubt.
"The portal should open. The energy's here—I can feel it. But it's not responding."
Dave holds his gaze, waiting for him to say more—something that will make all of this make sense. But Heinz simply lowers his eyes to the circle, lips parted slightly, as if solving an impossible equation in his head.
The weight of failure sinks into Dave's bones, mixed with a growing anger he doesn't know where to direct. At Heinz, for failing? At himself, for believing this would work? Or at this cursed world that refuses to let him go?
The air remains thick, as if the portal were still there, on the edge of existence, but unable to cross the line. Something is blocking it.
Dave clenches his fists and lets out a low growl.
"I'm not staying here for another cycle. If this doesn't work, we'll find another way."
Heinz looks up slowly. There's something in his eyes—an odd glint, a silent calculation.
"Another way…?"
Dave tilts his head, defiant.
"I'm getting out of this place, no matter what it takes."
The silence that follows is heavier than any reply.
The light from the circle is gone.
All that remains is the bitter certainty that they're trapped here.
For now.