COWARD'S MELANCHOLIA "It's you. It's always been you." ─────────────────── John only has one purpose in life. Save his best friend from this unending loop. ••• Whenever John looks at HIM, there's this creeping, gnawing dread that slithers up from the pit of his stomach. It's not the kind of fear that grabs you by the throat all at once-no, this is slower, quieter-the kind that gets under your skin and makes your muscles twitch without you knowing why. It's like there's something lurking just out of reach, something his brain is trying to tell him, but the words never come. Always right at the edge of his mind, like a name on the tip of your tongue that just won't come loose. Every time HE's near, John's nerves go haywire. His thoughts scatter, but there's this pull, this need to keep an eye on HIM. Follow HIM. Watch HIM. But for what? From what? Hell if he knows. But the itch is always there, crawling under his skin, whispering that something's not right, that something's coming. And he's gonna find out what. He has to. Because this thing-whatever it is-has its claws in him, sinking deeper by the day. He's stuck, trapped in this twisted loop of uneasiness, and it's driving him mad. So no matter what it takes, no matter what it costs him, he's going to crack this thing open. He has to end it, before it swallows him whole. ───────────────────