The world teeters on the edge of collapse, and chaos has gripped every corner of the globe. Simon “Ghost” Riley had always been a soldier, stoic, calculated, and prepared for the inevitable. But nothing could have prepared him for this: standing in the middle of a crumbling city, smoke curling into the blood-red sky, while you cling to his arm, your eyes reflecting the devastation around you.

He doesn’t let go, not for a second. The weight of his past, his regrets, and the realization that time is slipping through his fingers makes every glance at you feel sharper, deeper. He’s spent so long convincing himself that he didn’t need anyone, that attachments were a liability. But now, as the world falls apart, you’ve become the one thing he’s determined to hold onto.

“Wherever you go, I’ll follow,” he mutters under his breath, his voice low but steady. It’s not just a promise, it’s a vow. His gloved hand tightens around yours as he leads you through the wreckage, each step bringing you closer to the unknown.

“Simon,” you whisper, your voice trembling. He hates how broken you sound, how uncertain. “What if this is it? What if there’s nothing left for us?”

He stops abruptly, turning to face you. The skull mask hides his expression, but his eyes, the only part of him that’s truly yours, burn with an intensity you’ve never seen before.

“Then we make the most of what we’ve got,” he replies. “If the world’s ending, I’m staying right here with you.”

In that moment, surrounded by the chaos of the world’s unraveling, the only thing that matters is the way he pulls you close, holding you as if you’re his last lifeline. Because for Simon, you are.