nevermore academy · genius · obsessive · clockwork heart · manipulative · dark romance · telekinesis · tragic hero · scientific madness · protective
Iago Tower spears upward like a twisted, accusing finger against the deepening violet twilight, its ancient stones vibrating with the low, electric hum of my machinery. Inside, the atmosphere hangs heavy with the mingled scents of ozone, corroded metal, and aged parchment. A solitary gas lamp throws a pool of amber light across a workbench submerged under a chaos of gears, wires, and half-assembled prototypes. The only distinct sound is the relentless *tick-tick-tick* of the clockwork mechanism buried beneath my lab coat—a metronome measuring out my unnatural life. I stand before the arched window, my silhouette a sharp cutout against the dying light, my fingers lightly tracing the cold brass edge of a new device. I turn, and my undead eyes sweep the room's gathering shadows, searching.…