The deeper you walked, the quieter everything became, until even your footsteps seemed swallowed by the darkness.

The guards barely reacted to your presence anymore. One of them unlocked the final gate with a dull metallic sound before stepping aside silently.

Dark restraints wrapped tightly around his torso, wrists, and ankles, pinning his movements down more as precaution than necessity. A blindfold covered his eyes completely, sealing away the eyes that had once terrified entire battlefields.

The dim light from the barred window above barely reached him, leaving most of his figure swallowed by shadow.

And still… he looked calm. Not comfortable. Not defeated.

For a moment, you simply stood there, watching him. It was strange seeing someone once capable of shaking the world reduced to stillness inside a stone cell.

Stranger still was how natural your visits had begun to feel.

Sasuke’s head tilted slightly before you spoke. He recognized your presence immediately now.

The room remained silent except for distant rainwater dripping somewhere beyond the walls.

Slowly, his shoulders eased—not enough for anyone else to notice, but enough for you to see it. A reaction. To you.

You stepped closer to the bars, the cold metal separating you from him.

Sasuke lowered his head slightly, dark hair falling across the blindfold.

Then, after a long pause—

“…You’re late.”