The tear had fallen.
But its warmth remained.
Not on his skin—
but somewhere deeper.
Somewhere Arlen had tried to erase.
The girl's hand still rested against his cheek.
Soft.
Steady.
Real.
As if anchoring him to something he had long abandoned.
"…You feel it too, don't you?"
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
Not questioning.
Not doubting.
Just… knowing.
Arlen didn't answer.
Because he did feel it.
Something unfamiliar.
Something fragile.
Something dangerously close to being alive.
And that feeling—
was pulling something from the depths of his existence.
A sound.
A voice.
Faint at first.
Almost like an echo carried by the wind.
"…Arlen…"
His body froze.
Completely.
His eyes widened.
Not in fear.
But in recognition.
Because that voice—
did not belong to this world.
"…No…"
The word slipped out.
Shaken.
Unsteady.
"…That's not possible…"
The girl's expression changed slightly.
"…What is it?"
But Arlen wasn't looking at her anymore.
His gaze drifted somewhere beyond.
Somewhere distant.
Somewhere only he could see.
"…I heard it…"
His voice trembled.
"…her voice…"
The wind grew quieter.
As if even the world was listening.
"…Arlen…"
The voice came again.
Clearer this time.
Closer.
More real.
And with it—
came fragments.
Broken pieces of a life long gone.
A quiet village.
Sunlight filtering through leaves.
Laughter echoing in open air.
A girl—
standing in front of him.
Smiling.
Always smiling.
"…You promised…"
The voice continued.
Soft.
Gentle.
"…you wouldn't forget me…"
Arlen's hand moved to his head.
His breath became uneven.
Because the memories—
they weren't just returning.
They were breaking through.
"…Stop…"
He whispered.
"…Stop it…"
The girl stepped closer.
Concern now visible in her eyes.
"…What's happening to you?"
But he couldn't answer.
Because he was no longer fully here.
He was somewhere else.
Somewhere in between past and present.
"…Don't leave me…"
The voice echoed again.
And with it—
came pain.
Sharp.
Unforgiving.
The memory of losing her.
The moment everything ended.
The moment everything broke.
"…I didn't want to go…"
The voice trembled.
"…I was scared…"
Arlen dropped to one knee.
His body shaking slightly.
Not from weakness.
But from something far more overwhelming.
"…I know…"
The words escaped him unconsciously.
"…I know you were…"
The girl's eyes widened.
Because he wasn't talking to her.
He was talking to someone else.
Someone unseen.
Someone lost.
"…Arlen…"
The voice softened.
"…Are you still alone?"
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Unbearable.
Because that question—
cut deeper than anything else.
Arlen's fingers clenched tightly.
"…Yes…"
The answer came out broken.
"…I'm still alone…"
The girl standing before him felt something twist inside her chest.
A sudden ache.
A sudden sadness.
As if those words—
were not meant for her.
But somehow—
they reached her anyway.
"…Then…"
The voice hesitated.
Fading slightly.
"…why does it feel like I'm right there?"
Everything stopped.
Completely.
Arlen's eyes snapped upward.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Toward the girl standing in front of him.
Her expression.
Her eyes.
Her presence.
And suddenly—
everything overlapped.
The past.
The present.
The voice.
The girl.
"…No…"
His breath faltered.
"…That's not possible…"
The girl looked at him, confused.
"…What?"
Arlen stood up slowly.
His movements unsteady.
As if reality itself had become unstable.
"…Say something."
He whispered.
The girl blinked.
"…What do you want me to say?"
A pause.
"…Anything."
His voice trembled slightly.
"…Just speak."
She hesitated for a moment.
Then—
softly—
she spoke.
"…Are you still alone?"
The world shattered.
Not physically.
Not visibly.
But completely.
Because those words—
they were the same.
The exact same.
The voice.
The memory.
The past.
Everything aligned.
Arlen's body froze.
His eyes locked onto hers.
And for the first time—
fear took a different form.
Not fear of losing.
Not fear of destruction.
But fear of truth.
"…Who are you…?"
The question came out barely audible.
Because the answer—
was something he was not ready to face.
The girl looked at him.
Her expression uncertain.
But gentle.
"…I told you…"
She said quietly.
"I don't know."
But something inside her—
shifted.
A faint flicker.
A distant feeling.
Like a forgotten dream trying to return.
"…But when I'm with you…"
Her hand moved slightly toward her chest again.
"…it feels like I've been here before."
Arlen's breath stopped.
Because that feeling—
was not one-sided anymore.
It was shared.
It was real.
And it was dangerous.
Kael, watching from afar, clenched his jaw.
"…This is bad…"
His voice carried tension.
"…If they both start remembering…"
A pause.
"…everything will change."
Because memory—
is not just recollection.
It is emotion.
It is pain.
It is love.
And once it awakens—
it cannot be controlled.
Arlen stepped back slowly.
His eyes never leaving hers.
"…You're not supposed to exist."
His voice was quiet.
Shaken.
"…She's gone."
A pause.
"…I watched her die."
The girl's expression softened.
Not because she understood.
But because she felt something.
Something heavy.
Something sad.
"…Then why does it feel like I came back?"
Her words were soft.
Uncertain.
But they carried a truth neither of them could deny.
Arlen's heart—
something he thought was long dead—
tightened painfully.
Because deep down—
he knew.
This was not coincidence.
This was not illusion.
This was something far more cruel.
Or perhaps—
far more beautiful.
The return of something he had lost.
But not completely.
Not yet.
Because memories—
were still broken.
Still incomplete.
Still fighting to return.
And when they did—
everything would change.
Not just for him.
Not just for her.
But for the entire world.
Because the love that once ended in tragedy—
was beginning again.
And this time—
it carried the weight of two lifetimes.