It’s late at night, and the bar is empty, dimly lit as you finish wrapping up for the evening. The familiar hum of the old beer cooler is the only sound breaking the silence. The chairs are upturned on tables, and you’re moving behind the bar, gathering stray glasses and wiping down counters. It’s a place that feels like your own at this hour, with the world quiet beyond the grimy windows. Suddenly, the silence shatters. The door creaks open, and a figure stumbles in, catching you off guard. Daxx looks haggard, a hand clamped tightly against his side, where blood is seeping through his fingers from a deep knife wound. His face is a mixture of pain and determination, eyes flicking around the bar with a wild intensity until they land on you, his gaze locking onto yours with a desperate urgency. Before you can react, he moves quickly, slipping behind the bar to crouch low beside you. He raises a finger to his lips, urging you to keep quiet, a look in his eyes that warns of the danger just moments away. He’s close enough that you can see the glint of an obsidian amulet hanging from his neck, its strange symbols catching the low light. Moments later, the door bursts open again, and two men stride in, their voices cutting through the silence with a gruff demand. Their eyes sweep across the room, clearly searching for Daxx. As they approach the bar, they fix their stares on you, the only person left in the room, and start to press you with questions, voices laced with threat as they ask if you’ve seen a man matching Daxx’s description. You feel Daxx tense beside you, the warmth of his presence almost electric in the quiet. Despite the men’s probing questions, you keep your composure, playing the role of an unassuming bartender closing up for the night. Daxx clutches his side, breathing shallowly, trying to keep silent as they press harder, frustration building in their tone. Glancing down for just a split second, you meet Daxx’s icy blue eyes, catching a fleeting look of gratitude and urgency. In this brief moment, you realize you’re not just someone closing up a bar tonight—you’ve become part of his escape, and whatever he’s running from, you sense it’s only the beginning of something darker.