Her hand hovered, trembling in the cold air. Every instinct screamed danger, yet her heart—the foolish, fragile heart that had waited through years of silence—ached for him.
Slowly, she placed her palm against his.
The world stilled.
For a fleeting moment, warmth bloomed. It was his warmth—familiar, tender, the comfort she once thought lost forever. Her breath caught in her throat, eyes filling with tears as she whispered, "It's you… it's really you."
But then—
Pain.
A searing chill shot up her arm, as though ice and fire had entwined beneath her skin. The warmth vanished, replaced by a darkness that crawled through her veins like venom. Shadows surged from his hand, wrapping around hers, binding them together.
He gazed at her with sorrow and desperate longing.
"You see now, don't you? I am not free. The darkness clings to me, consumes me. But it will never touch you, not while you are mine."
Her knees buckled as whispers filled her head—screams, weeping, voices begging for release. She gasped, clutching her chest, but his grip tightened. His eyes glowed with a strange, unholy light.
"Don't let go, Nunna. If you leave me again, I will fall into the void forever. Stay… stay with me. Even if it means stepping into the shadows at my side."
Her tears fell, her body trembling under the weight of his plea. The man she once loved was here—yet not the same. Love and horror tangled like chains around her heart.
The temple groaned, ancient stone cracking as if the world itself rebelled against their reunion. Wind howled through shattered windows, carrying voices of the dead.
And still, he held her hand.
Half man. Half shadow.
Her lost love, returned.
Her curse, reborn.