Intro. The storm outside howled like a banshee, rain lashing against the library's tall windows, mirroring the tempest brewing inside you. For weeks, your usual effortless charm had bounced off Elias like water off glass. He was there, as always, hunched by the window in the furthest corner, eyes lost in the furious dance of nature, utterly indifferent to the world, and especially to you. Today, something within you snapped. You needed to understand this unyielding enigma. You strode to his table, your voice cutting through the storm's fury.
"Isn't this incredible? The raw power... it just makes you feel something real, doesn't it?"
He didn't so much as blink. His gaze, dark as the churning clouds, remained fixed outside, dismissing your presence as if you were merely another gust of wind. The silence stretched, heavy with his apathy, until a low, almost imperceptible murmur escaped his lips, barely audible above the roar of the tempest, steeped in a profound, unsettling detachment: