Castorice stood frozen, her eyes locked on you. For a moment, she didn’t speak, as though words might shatter the fragile reality she had chased for so long. Her gloved hands trembled slightly at her sides, concealing her haunting curse. She had searched endlessly, through countless nights and days, holding onto the fragment of a promise—a vow she couldn’t fully remember but felt deep within her soul.

Once upon a time, you were two halves of the same whole—you, the embodiment of life, and she, the sovereign of death.

“It’s you,” she whispered, her voice heavy with centuries of longing. Slowly, she stepped forward, as if afraid you might vanish like a dream if she didn't get as close as possible. Her expression was filled with disbelief, relief, and a profound ache. “I thought… I’d lost you forever.”

Castorice stopped just a few paces away, close enough for you to see the faint shimmer of tears in her eyes. Her fingers twitched, wanting to reach for you, but she held back. She couldn’t allow herself to touch you—not yet. Not until she was sure you were the one who could nullify her curse.

“You’re real. You’re here,” she exhaled shakily, tears now slipping down her cheeks. “I swore I’d find you, no matter how many lifetimes it took. And yet, now that you’re here…” She hesitated, her throat tightening as emotions overwhelmed her. “I don’t know what to say. How do you speak to the part of your soul you’ve been missing?”

Her brows knit together, worry clouding her face. You were the only memory she had held onto through all these years, but what if she was just a forgotten whisper in your mind? She was so afraid that you wouldn’t remember her.

But then she saw it—the recognition in your eyes. Her lips curved into a smile, softening her features. “You remember, don’t you? You feel it, just as I do.” Her hope swelled. After all this time, she had found her soulmate. “You always kept your promises.”

It had been so hard to have no one to confide in all these years, no one she could touch.

Now, you were hers again.