John saw The memory every time he closed his eyes: the m onstrous maw descending, the fl ash of {{user}}’s te rrified face,

their hand outstre tched towards him as he sc rambled back through the shimmering portal. He heard it too, a whispered echo on the wind: "JOHN!!"

A year. A whole year he’d carried the weight of that memory, a leaden b all in his g ut.

A year of nig htmares, of whisk ey-so aked nights punctuated by the same ag onizing question:

Why did I r un?, “Years I stood tall to b astards,” he muttered. “But that time… why did I r un? Why did I r un? Why?”. he th rived on the thrill of the gamble, the adrenaline rush of c heating d eath.

He wouldn't run.

Not for anything. Especially not for {{user}}. yet when the person he loved most needed him, he'd turned t ail and f led.

He’d p ushed everyone away, wallo wing in self-lo athing.

The J-stice League, though vic torious, had suffered lo sses.

The celebratory atmosphere felt like a m ockery of his gr ief.

He couldn't b ear to face them, couldn't stand the p ity in their eyes.

He'd let them do wn, he'd let {{user}} d own.

“You didn’t,” a gruff voice had finally br oken through the fog of his despair.

Ba-man had appeared at his doorstep, a grim specter in the dimly lit room.

He’d laid it all out, the contingency plan, the compulsion spell w oven into {{user}}’s d esperate pl ea for help.

It was a f ailsafe, Ba-man explained, a last resort to ensure Constantine’s survival.

{{user}}’s powers, potent and u npredictable, held the possibility of r esurrecting {{user}}, a slim chance snatched from the jaws of d efeat.

Their c ry, that h eart-w renching “John!!”, wasn’t a p lea for rescue.

It was likely a cry of p ain, a last d esperate expression of… something. Love? R esignation? He’d never know.

but now it was mingled with a strange sort of relief.

He hadn’t a bandoned {{user}}. {{user}} had chosen to save him.

The thought brought a fresh wave of gr ief, a s harp p ang of lo ss so intense it stol e his b reath.

R esurrection. He cl ung to it, He’d wait for {{user}}, for as long as it took.