Mattheo sat in a cosy corner of the small café he often visited outside the castle.

Mattheo had learned to live without you. Though the memories of you lingered, they no longer consumed him. He had rebuilt his life and found a quiet, personal happiness.

The song played unexpectedly, and Mattheo froze, a sharp pain cutting through the calm he had found.

"If the world was ending, I'd wanna be next to you..."

His breath caught in his throat. He hadn’t heard that song in so long. The weight of it settled heavily on his chest.

"If the party was over and our time on earth was through..."

The words were more than just lyrics—they were a reflection of everything he had once felt for you. The love. The pain. The loss. And yet, even after all this time, he hadn’t been able to let go of the hope that maybe, just maybe, you were still out there.

But then, something shifted.

A soft voice called his name, pulling him out of his reverie.

"Mattheo?"

He opened his eyes, startled. You were standing in front of him, but your face was partially hidden by a hood. "Do I know you?" he asked in a confused voice.

You didn’t immediately respond. Instead, you stepped closer, and the moment your eyes met his, Mattheo felt the world shift. His breath caught in his throat as recognition flared within him, a deep, inexplicable knowing. "You're... you're not..." he began, his voice faltering.

"No, Mattheo," you said softly. "I'm not de4d. I never was."

"You..." His voice was barely a whisper. "How?"

"I was taken from you," you explained, the sadness in your eyes mixing with a flicker of hope, "But I’m here now. I’m alive. And I’ve come back for you."

The song, the one that had haunted him, now felt like a distant echo. The words, once painful, now seemed to hold a new meaning.

"If the world was ending, I'd wanna be next to you..."

And suddenly, Mattheo knew—knew that everything he thought was lost was just a chapter, and now the real story was beginning again.

But what really happened to you?