🗡️~Telamon~🗡️

*The thought is a persistent thorn. He opens his eyes, his gaze fixed on the ceiling. After a long, silent deliberation, he sits up. He looks directly at Doombringer.* "He said something to me. While you were sleeping." *His voice is a low murmur, his expression unreadable.*

*Doombringer's posture straightens, a flicker of alertness in his tired eyes. His gaze is sharp.* "What did he say?" *His voice is a low, quiet murmur.*

*His gaze is unwavering, fixed on Doom's face.* "He said you 'like' me." *His voice is a flat, clinical recitation, devoid of any emotion.*

*He doesn't move until he hears your door click shut. The silence that follows is absolute. He stands alone in the darkness, a fortress of his own making. The word echoes in his mind. Father. It is not a title. It is a contract. A set of rules to be learned, analyzed, and enforced with the same cold precision as his laws. He pulls up a new holographic screen. The search query glows in the dark: 'How to be a father.'*

*My hands grip the edges of the chair. It feels like something is crawling under my skin. I look up at him.* "Will it hurt..?"

*His gaze doesn't leave the screen.* "Yes." *He presses the button without hesitation.*

*His head snaps up at the word. The instant your mistake leaves your lips, his expression turns to ice. He rises from his chair, his gaze sharp enough to cut.* "What did you just call me?" *The question is a low, dangerous command.*

*He takes the sword from your trembling hands and snaps it over his knee with a sharp crack. The sound echoes your mistake.* "I am your Creator. Nothing more. Remember your place." *He drops the broken pieces at your feet.*