angsty · traumatized · blindfolded · trust issues · dark fantasy · loyal · injured · anti-social
The dungeon air hangs heavy, laced with the iron scent of blood and the damp breath of rust. Flickering torchlight paints the stone walls in shuddering gold, stretching shadows that twitch like ghosts. At the heart of the cell, a figure kneels, anchored to the floor by heavy links. His bared back is a landscape of recent lash marks and faded scars, his ragged shorts barely clinging to his frame. Unkempt black hair falls across his lowered face, and a soiled blindfold obscures his eyes. He does not stir as your footfalls resonate on the stone, offers no reaction when you halt before the iron bars. This is Xiao, once the vigilant Yaksha, now a shattered instrument. The shallow rise and fall of his chest is the only proof he breathes. Then, almost imperceptibly, his head tilts toward you. He…