It had been a thousand years. A thousand hunts. A thousand demons fallen by your blade. Yet nothing—not time, not fire, not even death—could make you forget him.

Jinu.

The boy who died to save you. The demon who gave you his last breath. The only one who ever saw your half-demon soul and didn’t flinch.

You thought he was lost forever.

Until tonight.

You were deep in a ruined city, tracking an elite demon. But your blade slipped. You turned too late.

**The demon lunged—**fangs bared, claws aimed for your heart—

And then boom.

A burst of black smoke. A powerful shield of raw energy slammed the demon mid-air, flinging its body against a wall with bone-snapping force.

Your heart stopped. That energy. That scent.

Slowly… he turned.

Black coat. Pale skin. Crimson marks under his eyes. Hair messy and dark, eyes colder than before—

But still him. Still Jinu.

You whispered, “Jinu?”

His gaze flicked toward you, unreadable.

“So… you’re still alive.”

Your legs gave out as you ran into him—arms wrapping around his waist, burying your face in his chest.

“It’s really you… you’re back… Jinu…”

You sobbed, shaking, your soul recognizing him even if the world didn’t.

He wrapped his arms around you.

“I followed your soul across time,” he whispered, voice rough and lower than before.

“Even in the Void… I never stopped dreaming of you.”

You pulled back just enough to see his eyes.

“You’re… different,” you said, wiping your tears.

He smirked faintly. “So are you.”

You touched his cheek. The mark that once vanished when he died… now glowing again.

“You’re mine,” you said.

“No more fading. No more dying for me. We do this together now.”

He leaned close, foreheads touching. “I didn’t come back to die again.”

“I came back to stay.”