When Lilin opened her eyes again, the dim light of dawn was beginning to filter through the windows of the wooden hut, casting gray threads over the small room, which contained only a battered bed and an old wooden table.
Eren was sitting in the chair in front of her, watching her silently, his eyes filled with tension and wonder, as he pressed his other hand against the spot where the red inscription had appeared the night before.
She didn't know how long it had been since she'd fallen from the sky. The last thing she remembered was a white light piercing her chest, then a deadly pain, and then a long darkness.
She looked up at him. He was a thin young man, his black hair disheveled, his face determined despite the obvious weakness in his body. He watched her with pale blue eyes, like the sea on a stormy day.
"Are... you okay?"
He asked her in a low voice, as if he feared awakening something hidden in the room.
She wanted to reply, but her throat was dry. She tried to get up, feeling a strange warmth rising from her chest, as if a hidden fire was slowly stirring inside her veins.
She fell back onto the bed, panting heavily.
"I... am... not... okay."
She said this in a hoarse voice, closing her eyes for a moment, trying to control the flames burning inside her.
At that moment, Eren reached out, hesitantly, before lightly touching her shoulder. His touch was cold, as if a chill wind was lingering on his skin.
"What happened? And who are you?"
She slowly opened her eyes, looked directly into his face, and whispered,
"I... was a princess in the sky... banished."
He didn't understand what she meant, but he felt his heart beating faster, as if his body was responding to her words without his permission.
At that moment, she felt the inscription on his hand. She looked at his palm, and he quickly grabbed it, preventing her from seeing it, but it was too late.
"The inscription... appeared... on you."
She whispered in a trembling voice, her face turning pale.
"What does this mean?"
He asked anxiously, her lips trembling. She said slowly, "It means... that you've become... bound to me."
Before he could speak, the red inscription on his palm ignited again, illuminating the room with a faint red glow. He felt a heat surge through his body, as if the fire that resided within it had found its way to him.
He cried out in pain, clenching his fist tightly. Leylin's eyes welled up as she whispered, "Sorry... this seal... will kill you... if you don't regain my strength."
The light suddenly went out, and darkness returned to the room, leaving Eren breathing heavily as he stared at Leylin, who closed her eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks.
In that moment, Eren understood that his simple life was over, and that he had become part of a destiny he never chose.
But inside, he felt something strange... something like a flame, but it wasn't painful. Instead, it gave him a warmth he'd never known before.