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The Underworld had no seasons.
There was no spring bringing warm breezes, no scorching summers, no autumn leaves drifting to the ground, and no snow blanketing the world in winter.
Only an endless sky.
A sky that never changed.
A darkness that stretched beyond the horizon, frozen in time as though the world itself had forgotten how to move forward.
0213 hated it.
She rarely admitted it out loud, but every time a mission brought her to the Human Realm, she found herself lingering for just a little longer than necessary.
She loved looking at the sky.
The bright blue of the morning.
The golden hues of sunset.
Even the rain.
Everything changed.
Everything felt alive.
The Underworld, on the other hand, never changed.
Every day looked exactly like the one before it.
After enough time, eternity became unbearably boring.
โ You know what's the worst part about immortality, 5012? โ Her voice echoed through the office.
5012 didn't even bother looking up from the stack of reports spread across his desk.
โ It's having to listen to your questions. โ 0213 laughed.
โ Wrong. โ
She wandered toward the large window overlooking the silent city below, resting both hands against the glass.
โ What makes immortality unbearable... โ
She turned just enough to glance back at him, a playful grin tugging at the corner of her lips.
โ Is being bored forever. โ
Silence.
โ Don't you ever get tired of looking at the same thing every single day? โ
โ No. โ
โ You're lying. โ
โ I'm not. โ
โ You didn't even think about it. โ
โ You asked. โ
She clicked her tongue dramatically.
โ You're impossible. โ
โ And you're loud. โ
โ See? โ She said proudly. โ That's exactly why we get along. โ
A quiet sigh escaped him.
He returned to his paperwork.
0213 smiled to herself.
Victory.
She hadn't actually planned on visiting him that day.
Originally, she wanted to spend the afternoon bothering Atlas instead.
She had messaged him.
No reply.
She had checked his room.
Empty.
She had even asked around.
Nobody had seen him.
He was probably wasting time somewhere in the Human Realm, trying to win another ridiculous prize from a claw machine.
It sounded exactly like something Atlas would do.
Which left her with one option.
Not because he was particularly fun to be around.
Quite the opposite.
But annoying him had become one of her favorite hobbies.
He never kicked her out.
He rarely started conversations.
Most of the time, he acted as if she wasn't even there.
Yet somehow.
He always listened.
Even if he pretended not to.
Even if every answer was nothing more than a short sentence.
He always answered eventually.
And strangely enough...
That was enough.
The first time she met 5012, she thought he was the dullest Grim Reaper in existence.
Not because he truly was.
But because nothing ever seemed capable of changing his expression.
โ Do you always look like that? โ She asked on the very first day of training.
5012 looked up from the documents in front of him.
โ Like what? โ
โ Like someone sentenced to listen to another person talk for ten straight hours. โ He stared at her for a moment.
โ I am. โ
0213 burst into laughter.
Loud enough for the sound to echo throughout the training hall.
From that day forward, it became routine.
She talked.
He ignored her.
She insisted.
He eventually answered.
And somehow...
It worked.
Sometimes she wondered if she'd been this persistent back when she was human.
There was no way to know.
Grim Reapers didn't remember their previous lives.
That wasn't simply a rule.
It was the natural order of the Underworld.
Once a human crossed the boundary between life and death, everything they had once been disappeared.
Their name.
Their family.
Their friends.
The promises they had made.
The people they had loved.
Everything.
All that remained was a number.
And a new existence.
That was why she never paid much attention to the dreams.
They were only dreams.
Sometimes she saw a small apartment bathed in the warm light of sunset.
A couch.
A forgotten cup of coffee resting on a table.
And someone.
Someone sitting beside her.
She could never make out his face.
It was always blurred.
Like looking through fogged glass.
No matter how hard she tried to get closer...
She always woke up before she could reach him.
Only one feeling remained.
Warm.
Comforting.
Like home.
The notification arrived one morning.
New Assignment.
0213 opened the message with a grin.
Her first official soul collection in the Human Realm.
Naturally, it would be supervised by 5012.
She wasn't surprised.
He still insisted she needed more training.
She insisted he worried too much.
โ Don't look at me like that. โ
โ Like what? โ
โ Like you're already expecting me to cause trouble. โ
โ I am. โ
She smiled innocently.
โ I'd never. โ
5012 chose not to answer.
The portal opened before them.
A gentle breeze greeted them as they stepped into the Human Realm, stirring strands of 0213's crimson hair.
Her eyes lit up instantly.
She loved this place.
The streets.
The buildings.
The smell of fresh coffee drifting from nearby cafรฉs.
People walking past each other, completely unaware that Death walked among them.
Everything fascinated her.
She turned her head constantly, trying to look everywhere at once.
โ Can we grab something to eat afterward? โ
โ No. โ
โ What about coffee? โ
โ No. โ
โ Five minutes? โ
โ 0213. โ
โ ...Fine. โ
Judging by her smile...
She wasn't planning on giving up.
The assignment itself was simple.
An elderly woman.
Natural causes.
No complications.
It should have taken only a few minutes.
And it did.
Until they entered the room.
The woman lay peacefully in bed.
Beside her sat an elderly man, holding her hand with trembling fingers.
He wasn't screaming.
He wasn't begging.
He simply stayed there...
Gently caressing her hand as if she could still feel it.
0213 froze.
She couldn't explain why.
She had witnessed death countless times during training.
None of it had ever affected her.
But this...
This felt different.
The old man leaned down and kissed his wife's knuckles.
A bittersweet smile crossed his face through tears.
โ I'll find you again in the next life. โ
Everything stopped.
Those words pierced straight through her chest.
A sharp pain spread across her body.
Her breathing caught.
Then...
The memories came.
A coffee shop.
Two cups sitting across from one another.
A ring glimmering beneath the afternoon sun.
Intertwined fingers.
A man's laughter.
And a voice.
"I'll find you again... no matter how many lifetimes it takes."
"I'll always come back to you."
โ 0213. โ 5012's voice shattered the memory.
Reality rushed back all at once.
She gasped.
Her hand instinctively reached for her scythe.
Nothing.
She tried again.
Her fingers trembled.
The weapon materialized...
Only to disappear before it could fully form.
โ 0213. โ
5012 was already standing in front of her.
โ What happened? โ
She stared at her shaking hands.
โ ...Nothing. โ
It was a lie.
For the first time since becoming a Grim Reaper.
She was afraid.
Not because of the mission.
Not because of the strange memory.
But because somewhere, deep inside her soul.
She knew.
That promise...
Had been made to her.
Things only grew worse after that mission.
At first, 0213 convinced herself it had simply been an isolated incident.
Maybe the trip to the Human Realm had exhausted her more than usual.
Maybe she still wasn't used to real soul collections.
Nothing a little rest couldn't fix.
At least, that's what she wanted to believe.
But the memories didn't disappear.
If anything...
They became more frequent.
They came without warning.
While she walked through the halls of the Underworld.
While she trained.
While she tried to fall asleep.
A quiet park.
Rain.
A shared umbrella.
A pointless argument.
Tears.
A kiss.
And always...
The same man.
No matter how many times she saw him, she could never make out his face.
It was as if the memory itself refused to let her see him.
She only remembered the warmth in his voice...
And the unbearable ache in her chest every time the memory faded away.
Each vision vanished as suddenly as it arrived.
Yet it always left something behind.
A hollow feeling.
As though tiny fragments of her soul had been torn away along with it.
The symptoms began so subtly she almost ignored them.
At first, it was only fatigue.
The kind that lingered no matter how much she rested.
She stopped waking up early.
She found excuses to skip training sessions.
Once, she even pretended to be asleep when she heard 5012 approaching her room.
Listening to one of his lectures sounded far more exhausting than simply dealing with the pain.
Or so she thought.
Then came the trembling.
First her hands.
Then her entire body.
Some mornings, even holding a cup of tea became unexpectedly difficult.
And at night there was an emptiness beneath her ribs.
Not physical.
Something deeper.
As though someone were slowly tearing pieces away from her soul.
That was when she became afraid.
She decided to investigate on her own.
She didn't want anyone else involved.
Especially not 5012.
For several nights, she searched through old medical archives, forgotten reports, and records that hadn't been opened in centuries.
Eventually she found it.
Soul Sickness.
The words seemed heavier than the paper they were written on.
A rare condition among Grim Reapers.
Rare enough that only a handful of documented cases existed.
The soul gradually lost its balance.
Its stability weakened.
Its essence slowly unraveled.
Until...
There was nothing left to hold it together.
0213 searched desperately for another page.
A treatment.
A cure.
Anything.
There wasn't one.
Only a single sentence at the bottom of the report.
No known cure exists.
She shut the file immediately.
She couldn't bear reading another word.
For a while, she managed to hide it.
Or at least, she believed she did.
She still laughed.
Still wandered into 5012's office uninvited.
Still teased him whenever she had the chance.
If he noticed something was wrong...
He never mentioned it.
That was enough.
Until missions became unavoidable again.
The assignment itself was nothing unusual.
A routine collection.
One she had completed dozens of times during training.
0213 summoned her scythe.
For a brief second...
The weapon appeared.
Then vanished.
She frowned.
Tried again.
Nothing.
A sharp pain spread through her chest.
The portal connecting the Human Realm flickered before finally opening several seconds later than it should have.
5012 watched everything in silence.
He said nothing.
But from that moment on...
He handled almost the entire mission himself.
0213 barely had the strength to follow behind him.
โ We're done. โ
5012's voice echoed through the empty alley.
0213 forced a smile.
โ See? โ
She spread her arms dramatically.
โ You didn't even need me. โ
He looked at her.
Really looked at her.
Far longer than usual.
โ What? โ
โ You're pale. โ
โ I've always been pale. โ
โ More than usual. โ
She laughed awkwardly.
โ I didn't realize you paid that much attention. โ
Silence.
He looked away first.
โ We're leaving. โ
They never made it back.
Halfway to the portal...
The pain returned.
Far worse than before.
Her legs gave out beneath her.
0213 collapsed onto the cold pavement.
It felt as though invisible hands had reached inside her chest and were trying to tear her soul apart.
Her body didn't hurt.
Existing did.
Breathing became impossible.
Darkness blurred the edges of her vision.
โ ...0213. โ 5012 caught her before she could fall completely. His hands steadied her shoulders. โ What happened? โ
She tried to smile.
โ I'm... โ Her voice barely came out. โ...fine. โ
It was an obvious lie.
Grim Reapers didn't sweat.
Grim Reapers didn't shake.
Yet she was doing both.
5012 remained silent.
His grip tightened ever so slightly.
Without asking another question, he opened a portal back to the Underworld.
The mission was over.
The diagnosis came two days later.
The physicians exchanged uneasy glances as soon as the examination ended.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody needed to.
0213 already knew the answer.
She had known ever since she'd read that report.
โ Soul Sickness. โ The words hung heavily in the room.
5012 stood beside the door.
Perfectly still.
Hands folded behind his back.
His expression remained unreadable.
Yet...
The color had quietly drained from his face.
โ There has to be a mistake. โ His voice was calm. Almost too calm. One of the physicians shook his head.
โ We've ruled out every other possibility. โ Another closed the medical report.
โHer soul is becoming unstable. โ
โIt will continue to deteriorate. โ
โEach episode will become worse than the last. โ A brief silence followed.
โIf this continues... โ He never finished the sentence. He didn't need to. Everyone in the room already knew how it ended.
0213 lowered her gaze.
Oddly enough...
The illness wasn't what occupied her thoughts.
Just before entering the examination room...
She had remembered another voice.
Clearer than ever before.
Promise me...
Even if you forget me someday...
Another voice answered almost immediately.
I'll always find you again.
No matter how many years it takes...
I'll bring you back to me.
Her heartbeat stumbled.
Because that voice...
Wasn't unfamiliar anymore.
It had the same calm tone.
The same steady cadence.
The same quiet gentleness.
It belonged to 5012.
Slowly...
She looked toward him.
He hadn't moved.
Still standing by the door.
Still silent.
Still staring at the floor as though trying to process everything he'd just heard.
For the first time...
0213 found herself hoping those memories weren't real.
Because if they were...
It meant she had forgotten someone she had once loved enough to promise forever.
The very next morning...
5012 quietly rearranged her entire schedule.
He didn't ask for permission.
He didn't discuss it with anyone.
He simply did it.
Every long patrol disappeared.
Training sessions were canceled.
Dangerous assignments were reassigned.
When 0213 looked over the new schedule, she frowned.
โ What is this? โ
โ Rest. โ
โ ...That's it? โ
โ That's it. โ
She stared at him in disbelief.
โ I'm going to lose my mind. โ
โ You'll survive. โ
โ Are you punishing me? โ
โ I'm taking care of you. โ The words slipped out before he could stop them. Silence immediately settled between them.
For the first time in days 5012 looked almost surprised by himself.
He cleared his throat.
โ ...Doctor's orders. โ
0213 smiled.
A genuine smile this time.
She didn't tease him.
She didn't argue.
She simply looked at him for a long moment.
Then laughed softly.
โ You know... โ
โ What? โ
โI think I liked your first answer better. โ
5012 didn't reply.
But later that night long after he'd returned to his own room...
He found himself thinking about those words.
I'm taking care of you.
He couldn't explain why he had said them.
Only that, they had felt strangely natural.
As though he had spent a lifetime saying them before.
The first few days of mandatory rest were torture.
Not because of the pain.
Because of the boredom.
0213 had never been good at sitting still.
If she wasn't wandering through the halls of the Underworld, she was sneaking into someone else's office. If she wasn't bothering another Grim Reaper, she was finding some excuse to visit the Human Realm.
Now she couldn't do any of that.
5012 had personally rearranged her entire schedule.
No patrols.
No training.
No dangerous assignments.
Just rest.
And, according to him, that wasn't open for discussion.
โYou're treating me like I'm made of glass.
5012 didn't lift his eyes from the reports spread across the desk.
He had started bringing his work to her room.
No one had asked him to.
One day he simply walked in carrying a stack of files, placed them neatly on the small desk beside the window, and continued working as though he'd always belonged there.
โ I'm following the doctor's orders. โ
โ You're using them as an excuse. โ
โ I am. โ
She blinked.
โ I wasn't expecting you to admit that. โ
โ I don't see the point in lying. โ
0213 let out an exaggerated sigh before flopping backward onto the bed.
โ You're impossible. โ
โ So you've told me. โ
โ Several times. โ
โ I counted. โ
She stared at the ceiling.
A smile tugged at the corners of her lips before she could stop it.
Days slowly settled into a routine.
Every morning, 5012 appeared at exactly the same hour.
He checked on her condition.
Made sure she had eaten something.
Left a fresh cup of tea on the bedside table without ever asking if she wanted one.
Then he sat down at the desk and worked in complete silence.
Meanwhile...
0213 did the exact opposite.
She talked.
Constantly.
About the weather the Underworld didn't have.
About other Grim Reapers.
About random things she'd seen in the Human Realm.
Sometimes she'd read sections of his reports aloud just to complain about how boring they were.
5012 rarely answered.
But she had begun noticing something.
He no longer told her to be quiet as often.
Not that he stopped completely.
Only...
Less.
Progress.
One quiet afternoon, a melody drifted through the room.
0213 was lying on her back, staring absentmindedly at the ceiling while softly humming to herself.
It was always the same tune.
One she didn't remember learning.
It simply surfaced in her mind every now and then.
She always stopped at the same point.
Always.
As though the rest of the song had been erased.
This time...
Someone else continued it.
Without thinking.
Without hesitation.
The remaining notes left his lips naturally, his attention never leaving the report in front of him.
Silence followed.
He slowly looked up.
0213 was sitting upright on the bed, staring at him.
โ ...How did you know the rest? โ
He frowned.
He genuinely didn't know.
โ I don't. โ
โ But... โ
โ I just... โ
He searched for an explanation.
None came.
โ I just did. โ
Neither of them spoke again.
Yet the unfinished melody lingered quietly between them long after the conversation ended.
A few days later.
Rain fell over the Human Realm.
0213 practically lit up the moment she saw it.
โ Please? โ
โ No. โ
โ Come on. โ
โ No. โ
โ I haven't been outside in days. โ
โ Correct. โ
She crossed her arms.
โ You're cruel. โ
โ I'm responsible. โ
โ Same thing. โ
He sighed.
A long, tired sigh that told her she'd already won.
โ One hour. โ Her entire face brightened.
โ I knew you liked me. โ
โ I never said that. โ
โ You didn't have to. โ
The streets were nearly empty.
Rain tapped softly against the pavement, washing the city in silver reflections.
0213 walked ahead of him, arms stretched out as droplets landed on her fingertips.
She laughed quietly.
โ I missed this. โ
5012 opened the umbrella he had brought with him.
Without thinking.
He tilted it toward her.
Most of the rain ended up falling on his own shoulder.
0213 noticed almost immediately.
She looked at him with a teasing smile.
โ Do you always do that? โ
โ Do what? โ
โ Hold the umbrella so the other person stays dry instead of you. โ
He looked at the umbrella.
Only then did he realize what he'd done.
He hadn't thought about it.
His body had simply moved on its own.
โ I don't know. โ
Something flashed across his mind.
A woman laughing.
Trying to steal the umbrella from his hands.
โ It's my turn to hold it! โ
โ You'll get soaked. โ
โ Then we'll both get soaked. โ
Laughter.
Warm.
Familiar.
Gone before he could grasp it.
A sharp ache spread through his temples.
He instinctively pressed a hand against his forehead.
0213 immediately stepped closer.
โ ยฟ5012? โ He lowered his hand.
โ I'm fine. โ Another lie.
He was beginning to hate how easily those memories disappeared.
The memories no longer belonged only to 0213.
Now they came to him as well.
A small cafรฉ.
Movie tickets.
A velvet ring box.
A necklace resting carefully inside his hands.
A promise.
The same woman.
Again.
Only this time...
He could finally see her face.
Red hair.
Golden and violet eyes.
A smile bright enough to make everything else disappear.
Every memory ended the same way.
With her.
It made no sense.
Grim Reapers weren't supposed to remember.
They couldn't.
Then why...
Why did every moment spent beside her awaken another piece of someone else's life?
He never asked.
Never mentioned the dreams.
He convinced himself they were nothing more than corrupted memories.
A flaw.
A rare malfunction after centuries of existence.
There had to be a logical explanation.
There had to be.
Strangely...
0213's condition began to improve.
She still had bad days.
But they became less frequent.
Color slowly returned to her face.
Her laughter filled the hallways again.
Even the physicians admitted they couldn't explain it.
The Soul Sickness remained.
Yet it had stopped progressing.
5012 didn't question it.
He simply continued doing what had quietly become part of his daily routine.
Waiting for her after patrols.
Walking her home.
Bringing her tea before she asked.
Listening to every ridiculous story she insisted on telling.
Even when he pretended not to.
He was there.
Always.
โ Why do you keep taking care of me? โ The question came unexpectedly one evening.
0213 sat on the edge of her bed, absentmindedly swinging her legs.
5012 lowered the report he'd been reading.
He remained silent for several seconds.
โ Because you're my apprentice. โ A brief pause.
โ And my responsibility. โ She laughed softly.
โ Liar. โ He looked up.
โ What? โ
โ You told me yourself. โ She pointed at him.
โ You don't like getting attached to people. โ
Silence.
โ You're not the type to worry about someone this much. โ
He looked away.
She was right.
He wasn't.
Or...
He shouldn't have been.
โ Then... โ
Her voice became quieter.
โ Why are you always the one who comes looking for me? โ
5012 opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Only an unbearable pressure deep inside his chest.
As though...
He had already answered that question once before.
Long ago.
In another lifetime.
Neither of them spoke.
The silence lingered between them until 0213 finally smiled.
โ Don't make that face. โ She chuckled.
โ You look like the world's about to end over one little question. โ He still said nothing.
โ Besides... โ She leaned forward slightly.
โ If you keep showing up every single day, I'm going to start believing you actually enjoy my company. โ
โ Don't flatter yourself. โ
โ Ouch. โ She dramatically placed a hand over her heart.
โ I think that one actually hurt. โ
5012 shook his head.
Somehow...
Even while recovering from Soul Sickness...
She still found the energy to tease him.
He turned toward the door.
โ Get some rest. โ
He had barely taken a single step.
โ 5012. โ He stopped.
When he turned around, she was already standing in front of him. There was no teasing smile this time.
Only something quiet. Something sincere.
โ Thank you. โHe blinked.
โ ...You don't have to thank me. โ
โ I do. โ
Slowly 0213 raised her hand. She hesitated for only a second. Then gently took his hand in both of hers.
5012 froze. Warm. That was his first thought. Her hands were warm. Far warmer than they should have been.
โ 0213... โ
A faint pulse passed between them.
Like the smallest spark imaginable.
It wasn't visible.
But both of them felt it.
A gentle warmth spread through their hands, traveling slowly up their arms until it settled deep inside their chests.
Not painful.
Comforting.
Like returning somewhere they had always belonged.
0213's eyes widened.
โ ...Did you feel that? โ
5012 stared silently at their joined hands. The emptiness inside him felt lighter. Just a little.
โ ...Yes. โ
Neither of them moved.
Neither let go.
For several long seconds, they simply stood there.
Looking at one another.
As though some forgotten part of them recognized what their minds could not.
Eventually 0213 cleared her throat and quickly withdrew her hand.
โ Well... โ A nervous laugh escaped her. โ That was... weird. โ
5012 lowered his gaze to his own fingers.
They still carried her warmth.
As though she were still holding his hand.
โ ...Yeah. โ
Neither of them realized what had happened.
During those few quiet seconds a tiny fragment of each of their souls had crossed the boundary separating them.
Not enough to restore every memory.
But enough...
For two souls that had loved each other once before...
To recognize one another again.
After that night...
Something changed.
Not all at once.
Not in any way either of them could put into words.
It revealed itself in the smallest details.
0213 recovered faster after each episode.
The color slowly returned to her face.
The Soul Sickness was still there.
The physicians confirmed it every time they examined her.
Yet, for the first time since her diagnosis...
It had stopped getting worse.
No one understood why.
5012 never asked.
He simply accepted it.
Quietly.
Gratefully.
And continued doing what had become second nature.
He stayed by her side.
His own nights, however, became increasingly unbearable.
Every time he closed his eyes...
Another memory awaited him.
A small cafรฉ.
Two movie tickets.
A necklace.
A velvet ring box.
A wedding.
A tiny apartment.
Lazy Sunday mornings.
Burnt pancakes.
Arguments over whose turn it was to wash the dishes.
Late-night movies on the couch.
A life.
An ordinary, peaceful life.
And every single memory ended exactly the same way.
With her.
Always her.
Laughing.
Smiling.
Holding his hand exactly as she had that night.
He woke every morning with the same question echoing in his mind.
Who were you to me?
No matter how hard he tried to dismiss those memories as nothing more than a flaw...
His soul seemed to know the answer long before his mind did.
The following days passed peacefully.
Almost suspiciously so.
0213 had fully returned to being herself.
Loud.
Restless.
Completely incapable of sitting still for more than five minutes.
If she wasn't bothering another Grim Reaper, she was wandering through the Human Realm, talking to strangers or buying things she absolutely didn't need.
5012 had long since accepted that trying to stop her was pointless.
The only thing he could do...
Was find her afterward.
โ You're off today, aren't you? โ
0213 nodded enthusiastically.
โ I am! โ
โ Don't come back late. โ She raised an eyebrow.
โ Was that concern I just heard? โ
โ That was an order. โ She grinned.
โ Whatever you say, boss. โ
Before stepping through the portal, she waved over her shoulder.
โ See you tonight! โ
5012 acknowledged her with nothing more than a small nod.
Neither of them realized...
Those would be the last words they exchanged that day.
The first call didn't concern him.
0213 had a habit of forgetting to answer her phone.
The second call didn't concern him either.
By the third...
He frowned.
Night fell.
Still nothing.
He called again.
No answer.
He sent messages.
No reply.
He checked her room.
Empty.
He began asking around.
โ Has anyone seen 0213? โ
The answers never changed.
โ No. โ
โ I thought she was with you. โ
โ She hasn't come back yet. โ
The knot in his chest tightened.
He searched everywhere she usually wandered.
The park she liked.
The cafรฉ she insisted smelled better than the coffee actually tasted.
The streets where she always found someone willing to entertain one of her endless conversations.
Nothing.
She was nowhere.
Hours passed.
And for the first time in longer than he could remember...
5012 was afraid.
It didn't make sense.
0213 was a Grim Reaper.
She could take care of herself.
She was capable.
Resourceful.
Then why...
Why did his hands refuse to stop shaking?
A siren.
Another.
Rain.
Water splashing against soaked pavement.
Red and blue lights reflecting across the street.
Someone was shouting.
No.
He was shouting.
Running.
Pushing through the crowd.
โ Move! โ
โ Please... let me through! โ
An ambulance.
A stretcher.
A hand hanging lifelessly over the edge.
A silver necklace.
The same necklace.
The one from every dream.
โYura!
The name escaped his lips before he even realized he'd spoken.
Everything stopped.
The memories didn't come in fragments anymore.
They came all at once.
Complete.
Painfully vivid.
He remembered everything.
He had loved her.
They had shared a tiny apartment.
They had laughed over burnt breakfasts.
Fallen asleep halfway through movies.
Promised to grow old together.
He had bought that ring.
Spent weeks hiding it because he wanted the proposal to be perfect.
And then...
Rain.
Screeching tires.
A blinding flash of headlights.
His hand reaching desperately toward her.
Too late.
Always...
Too late.
The ache in his chest became almost unbearable.
He had already lost her once.
He couldn'tโ
Not again.
Never again.
โ ยฟ5012? โ
The familiar voice shattered the memory.
He turned.
0213 stood only a few steps away.
Her crimson hair was slightly messy.
Several shopping bags hung from one arm.
A giant stuffed rabbit was tucked beneath the other.
She blinked at him.
Completely confused.
โ What are you doing here? โ He couldn't answer.
She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.
โ My phone died. โ She lifted one of the bags with an awkward smile.
โI found a little street market. โThen this old lady asked me to help her get her cat down from a tree and after that she hesitated. โ I saw a sale. โ
Silence.
โ ยฟ...5012? โ
He walked toward her.
One step.
Then another.
Then another.
Until he stood right in front of her.
She barely had time to blink.
His arms wrapped tightly around her.
The shopping bags slipped from her fingers.
The stuffed rabbit was crushed awkwardly between them.
โ ยฟ5012? โ
He was trembling.
So faintly that most people wouldn't have noticed.
She did.
She had never seen him like this.
Never.
โ What happened? โ
No answer.
He only held her tighter.
As though letting go would make her disappear.
As though he needed to convince himself she was truly there.
Alive.
Safe.
Real.
And in that moment...
With his heartbeat pounding against hers...
The final seal on her memories shattered.
A tiny apartment.
The smell of fresh coffee every morning.
Movie nights that lasted until dawn.
Playful arguments over the dishes.
A silver necklace.
A velvet ring box.
A trembling "yes."
A wedding.
A quiet life.
A happy life.
Then...
Rain.
The accident.
His hand reaching toward her.
His voice calling her name over and over.
Darkness.
When she opened her eyes again...
Tears were already streaming down her face.
Slowly...
She lifted one trembling hand and rested it against his back.
Then embraced him just as tightly.
Because she remembered now.
Everything.
The dreams.
The promises.
The love.
None of it had been imagined.
None of it had been a mistake.
It had been their life.
And the man holding her so desperately...
Was the same man she had loved before she became 0213.
The same man who had promised to find her again.
No matter how many lifetimes it took.
She buried her face against his shoulder, her voice barely above a whisper.
โ ...You found me. โ
5012 closed his eyes.
His grip around her tightened ever so slightly.
He let out a shaky breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
โ ... โ
For the first time in centuries...
He smiled.
Only a little.
Almost imperceptibly.
But it was real.
โ ...I told you I would. โ
No matter how many times the world tore them apart.
No matter how many memories were erased.
No matter how many names they were forced to forget.
Their souls would always remember.
Because in the end...
All that remained of their past was one simple truth.
Love.
Love was all they had left.
And somehow that was enough.