The night was still, the waves rolling gently against the shore as if whispering secrets only the ocean could understand. The moon hung above them, casting a silver glow over the sand, illuminating two figures lost in a moment beyond time.
Sophia stood there, watching him.
Mirshad had been walking alone for some time now, lost in thoughts too deep for words. His face held no fear, no hesitation, only a quiet storm that brewed beneath his eyes.
She took a step closer.
"I've been searching for you everywhere." Her voice was soft, careful. "What happened? Are you okay?"
The words struck something deep within him.
Without thinking, he reached for her arm, holding her gently as he led her toward the shore. They sat down together, and as the wind wrapped around them, he lay back, resting his head on her lap.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then, Mirshad reached for her hand, tracing his fingers along her palm, his voice low and distant.
"I don't know, Sophia…" He exhaled slowly. "I never imagined this. Not any of it. Not this life. Not this path. But that's the truth of it, isn't it? We plan, we dream… but life has a way of writing its own script. And no matter how much I try to understand it, there's one thing I know for certain…"
He turned his head slightly, looking up at her.
"If none of this had happened… I never would have met you."
She smiled softly, running her fingers through his hair.
"That's because everything was already planned, Mirshad. Sometimes, we don't understand why things happen the way they do until we look back and see how perfectly it all fits together. You were always meant to be here. And more than that… you were always meant to be the future."
She paused, her voice growing softer.
"I still remember the moment my heart decided you were mine." Her fingers played with the strands of his hair as she spoke. "It was the day you erased John and his army from existence. The day we were still transforming you in the underground. I remember watching you, standing at the entrance of the chamber, holding a juice for you because I wanted to be the first person to greet you. And then you looked at me…"
Mirshad closed his eyes for a moment, smiling faintly. He remembered that moment too.
"That day, something changed inside me." She continued. "And then, when you called your family, when you lost control and your emotions shook the entire universe… that was the moment I knew."
She took a deep breath.
"I watched Baba and everyone else trying to reach you, trying to calm you down. But none of them could. And when I touched you… when I held you, I saw something no one else did."
Mirshad opened his eyes, watching her as she spoke.
She swallowed hard, remembering.
"The power inside you… it spoke to me."
She tightened her grip on his hand.
"It told me you weren't human. That you were something beyond anything this world has ever known. That you were the creator of everything—the one who has existed beyond time itself. It told me you have been reborn over and over again, in different centuries, different timelines, but you never fully awakened. Not until now. And…"
She hesitated, searching his face.
"…it told me something else."
Mirshad's fingers stilled against her palm. "What?"
"That I have been reborn with you. Many times. That I was always meant to be by your side, but we never met in those past lives because you never awakened. But this time, we did. This time, I was here. And now, I will never leave."
She took a shaky breath, her eyes filled with something deep and unshakable.
"And it told me… that something is coming, something bigger than all of this. That you—because you created this universe—you are the only one who can destroy it, too. That if you ever fully awaken, you could erase everything."
Mirshad's jaw tightened.
"And that's why I was placed by your side. To be your key."
Her voice was steady, but there was something raw in her expression.
"I don't know why, but when I heard that… I wasn't afraid. I was happy. Because it meant that our meeting was never a coincidence. We were always meant to find each other, and now, finally, we have."
She touched his face, cupping his cheek.
"You are a god, Mirshad. But you are also mine."
Silence fell between them, but it was not an empty silence.
It was full.
Mirshad looked into her eyes, seeing everything she was. Everything she meant to him.
"I know," he said at last. "I knew from the moment you spoke to my power. I was there, watching you. You didn't see me, but I saw everything. I heard everything. And that's why… the moment I returned, I didn't waste any time. I came to you. I claimed you as mine."
His fingers brushed along her wrist, his voice lower now.
"Our souls have waited for this moment for centuries. And now, we are together. As we were always meant to be."
Sophia's breath hitched.
"I love you, Mirshad," she whispered.
His eyes softened. "And I love you. More than you could ever know."
She smiled, her fingers tightening in his hair.
"I'm only doing what a wife should do, right? Caring for her husband."
A flicker of amusement passed through his eyes. "We aren't married yet."
She tilted her head, smirking. "Maybe not on paper. But my heart has already married you."
He didn't respond. He didn't need to.
His silence was answer enough.
They sat there for a long time, the waves moving in gentle rhythms around them, the universe itself seeming to quiet in their presence.
Then, just as the moment settled, a voice echoed across the shoreline.
"Son, are you there?"
Both Mirshad and Sophia turned.
Baba was calling.
And the night was not over yet.