POV: Kaelen
The temple air tasted like salt and sorrow.
Kaelen stood frozen as Nernia traced her fingers along the glowing sigils of the prophecy, her jaw set in unshakable resolve.
"I'll be the one to forget," she said softly. "I'll surrender my name, my past… everything."
"No," he breathed, heart roaring in protest. "Nernia, don't—please. Let me do it. I was ready—"
"That's exactly why it has to be me," she cut in, turning to him. Her eyes shimmered, gold flecked with pain and love. "You were born for the sea. I was born for war. But you—you can build a future. You're the only one I trust to protect it."
Kaelen's throat clenched. "You won't remember me. Our nights under the stars. That stupid fight over the lemon tarts. The way you look at me like I'm not broken."
"I'll forget it all," she whispered, stepping closer. "But deep down… I'll feel it. I'll know. Somewhere, something inside me will ache for your eyes even if I don't know why."
He cupped her face with trembling hands. "And I'll find you. I swear it. No matter how long it takes. No matter who you become."
Tears spilled down her cheeks. "And when you do…?"
"I'll make you fall in love with me all over again," he promised, voice shaking. "We'll dance in the rain, and I'll tell you stories I shouldn't remember. I'll say your name like it's holy. And I'll wait—gods, I'll wait forever if I have to."
Nernia reached up, pressing her lips softly against his — not a kiss of passion, but of finality, of sealing something eternal.
Then she stepped back toward the altar.
As the ancient magic rose around her, the tome glowing brighter, Kaelen felt the tug in his chest — the bond unraveling, thread by delicate thread.
Her voice echoed one last time before the light took her:
"Find me, Kaelen. And love me... again."
Then silence.
She collapsed into the sigil, her eyes closing — not in death, but in forgetting.
Kaelen fell to his knees.
Not in defeat.
But in promise.