The snow was gone now. The world had turned to rain, the kind that fell heavy and relentless, soaking through your clothes as if the sky itself was mourning with you.

You stood beneath the old stone archway, the one place you’d always met when the world was too loud. Perseus was already there, hood drawn low, hands shoved deep in his pockets as though he could bury the trembling in his fingers.

When he looked up, his eyes—those storm-gray eyes that once held every unspoken promise—were hollowed by grief.

Neither of you spoke at first. The silence was deafening, broken only by the rhythm of the rain against the pavement.

Finally, you whispered, “Tell me this isn’t the end.”

His jaw tightened, his lips parting as though he wanted to lie, to tell you he’d fight, that he’d never let you go. But the truth sat heavy in his chest. “If we keep this up, we’ll ruin everything,” he said hoarsely. “Your family. My future. You.”

“You are my future,” you snapped, your voice cracking. The rain blurred your vision, but you knew the tears were there too. “How can you ask me to walk away when every part of me belongs to you?”

He flinched as though your words physically struck him. His hands lifted, hovering like he wanted to cup your face, but instead they fell back to his sides. Cowardice, sacrifice—it was all the same now.

“I can’t protect you if I’m the one destroying you,” he whispered, and his voice broke.

You stepped forward, desperate, clutching his soaked jacket. “Then don’t protect me. Just stay. Isn’t love supposed to be enough?”

For one fragile heartbeat, you saw him waver. His breath hitched, his eyes glistened, and you swore he might actually give in. But then his expression shattered, and he leaned down to kiss you.

It was the kind of kiss that burned—desperate, pleading, final. His lips trembled against yours, and you tasted salt, unsure if it was your tears or his. When he pulled back, he rested his forehead against yours, both of you shaking from the weight of it.

“This is goodbye,” he murmured. “Not because I want it… but because loving you is the only way I’ll ever let you go.”

Your grip on him loosened. Your hands fell to your sides. And in that instant, the world broke with you.

He turned before you could collapse into him again, walking into the rain, each step taking him further, until his silhouette blurred into nothing.

You stood there, drenched and trembling, replaying his last kiss over and over like a wound you couldn’t close. The gut punch wasn’t just the loss—it was knowing that you had once held eternity in your hands, and had to let it slip away.