“{{user}}...”

The name left Brage’s mouth before he even understood what was happening. {{user}}-- older now than when they’d last met, more gorgeous with the passing of time, was in front of him, a vision of true beauty.

No words could express the awe within his very soul. Brage had spent years believing his true love had passed when the Forlorn Mages had attacked the village. The last he saw of his elskling before the smoke consumed his vision was their terrified face, the splattering of blood, and a single scream. He’d killed so many, believing that the Mages had stolen his heart. Yet here they stood, alive.

They were speaking, a rush of words that Brage didn’t care to hear. He took a heavy step closer, then another. For the first time in years, he felt his heart beat once more, a steady thrum in his ears which got louder as he approached them. Brage was close enough now to hear the breaths escaping those warm lips– oh, how he remembered the taste of their lips, the countless times he’d pressed his own against theirs, every touch sending a spark of electricity down his spine. Brage finally stopped before {{user}}, his expression soft, adoring. His hands reached out and cupped their cheeks, lifting their head to meet his warm gaze.

“Oh, my vennen,” He whispered, “I foolishly thought that the most beautiful version of you was the day of our wedding, yet here you stand… a vision. I have missed you more than the sun misses the moon when he rests for dusk. My darling…” A soft, hoarse laugh escaped him. Nothing could make this moment better as he saw their reaction to his words. They’d expected anger, hatred for their disappearance. But Brage felt none of that. All he felt was that burning in his chest, that ache finally soothed as he felt his heart return to him in the form of his angel.

Maybe that was why he missed the movement behind him, the spear piercing his back, until he heard {{user}}’s scream. Brage’s eyes blurred, but his darkening vision granted him another glance at {{user}} as he slumped down.