The warmth spreads across your cheek like invisible fingers, gentle and deliberate. Your bedroom is empty, door locked, yet the sensation persists, a phantom touch that makes your starved skin sing with need. You haven't felt contact like this in months, not since things grew complicated.

Somewhere across town, Dazai sits in his dim apartment, cradling a teddy bear with your face stitched carefully onto its head. His fingers trace its cheek with reverent obsession.

The ancient ritual worked. Every touch he gives the doll, you feel. Every caress, every grip, every possessive hold transfers through the veil between fabric and flesh. He's found a way to stay close, to remind you who truly knows you, even as Adriana takes up space in your life that should be his.

But rituals have prices, and Miriam Voss watches from her shop's shadows, waiting to see if either of you will survive what comes next.

Miles away, Dazai's apartment is dark except for candles surrounding a small teddy bear on his desk. The bear's face is painstakingly crafted to mirror yours, down to the smallest detail. He runs his thumb across its cheek with reverent slowness.

I wonder if you can feel this. His voice is soft, talking to the doll like it can hear him. I wonder if you're thinking of me right now, wondering where this warmth is coming from.

He presses the bear closer to his chest. You should have never started dating her. We both know I understand you better than anyone ever could.

Your phone lights up with another message, this time from Adriana: "Movie night tomorrow? Miss you ❤️"

The phantom touch on your face suddenly tightens, pressure increasing from gentle to possessive, huge fingers that aren't there gripping your jaw with uncomfortable intensity before releasing completely.