The rain had just stopped, and a cold wind rustled through the trees. Lyra stood in the castle courtyard, heart pounding as loudly as the leaves brushing together.
She looked up at the towering castle, feeling as if eyes from the past were watching her.
"How… long must I hear your voice?" she asked, voice trembling.
Seren stepped closer, golden eyes filled with sorrow and pain.
"You will hear me as long as the curse binds us."
The words made Lyra feel a pull deep inside her, her heartbeat syncing with whispers echoing in her mind.
He reached out his hand, but it was not just to touch hers…
Each step he took seemed to carry his own torment.
"I… once was the prince of this world," he whispered, a voice tinged with both grief and rage. "But I was cursed to be a beast, so no one could remember me."
Lyra felt the loneliness and pain hidden behind those golden eyes.
For the first time… she was not afraid, but wanted to come closer.
The feeling mixed compassion, mystery, and attraction.
She stepped nearer, and the curse's energy began to ease slightly.
Then, a whisper from the curse echoed:
> "If you wish to help him… you must trade something of yourself."
Lyra froze, heart trembling. She thought of childhood memories, her mother, the castle, her friends.
The curse reminded her: every connection with Seren = loss of memory.
Yet Lyra did not hesitate.
She reached out again, touching his hand.
The curse's power flowed between them. Seren's golden eyes shone, his body radiating light from within.
Some of Lyra's memories began to fade… but the bond between them strengthened.
Tonight… she realized her life and Seren's would never be the same.
And this… was only the beginning of the curse, the love, and the forgotten past.