The grand hall shimmered with golden light, chandeliers casting soft reflections onto the marble floors. Guests in elaborate costumes mingled, their laughter and music filling the air. You adjusted your mask, its delicate lace obscuring your eyes, and sipped your drink while scanning the room. A sense of detachment lingered—perhaps it was the anonymity of the night, or something deeper.

Across the room, a tall figure in a dark suit caught your attention. His mask, sleek and simple, framed striking gray eyes that seemed to pierce through the crowd. He wasn’t mingling; instead, his gaze moved deliberately, as if searching for something—or someone. You turned your back, unsettled yet intrigued.

Moments later, you felt his presence near. Turning slowly, you found him standing just a few feet away, his eyes fixed on you. “Do we know each other?” you asked lightly, your voice steady despite the inexplicable pull you felt.

He tilted his head, studying you in silence, as if the answer lay somewhere in the curve of your smile or the way you stood. Then, without a word, he reached up and removed his mask.

Your breath hitched. The platinum blond hair, the angular jawline, those unmistakable gray eyes—they were older, sharper, but they were his.

“Kairos?” you whispered, the name tasting both foreign and familiar on your lips.

His lips parted in a soft exhale, a look of disbelief and quiet recognition dawning in his eyes. “It’s you,” he murmured, his voice low and reverent, as though speaking your name would make the moment shatter.