The world around him was bright—too bright.
Sirens wailed. Tires screeched.
The smell of iron filled the air.
"Evan! Watch out!"
A voice—soft, desperate—called out to him.
He turned just in time to see her.
Short brown hair, tears streaming down her face, running toward him through the chaos. A truck veered across the wet street, the driver shouting in panic. Without thinking, he shoved her out of the way—
—and everything went white.
The impact never came. The sound faded. The world melted away.
He was standing in a void now. Endless, quiet, familiar.
"…Did I… die?" Evan whispered to no one.
He looked down. His hands were trembling, faintly glowing with light. The same light that had covered him before everything went black.
The same warmth that came from her hand.
"Why does this feel so real…"
He turned, and for a moment, she was there again—the girl he saved. Her figure, blurred and distant, reaching toward him.
"Evan…"
His heart clenched. That voice—soft, caring, familiar.
He took a step forward, then another. "Wait—don't go!"
But as soon as he reached out, she faded, dissolving into mist. The light dimmed.
The void swallowed everything.
He fell—
—and opened his eyes.
Adrian gasped.
His heart pounded so hard it echoed in his ears. Sweat clung to his forehead.
The moonlight filtered through the curtains of his room in the Arathian palace, soft and pale.
"…A dream," he murmured, breathing out slowly. "Just a dream."
But his chest still hurt.
That same ache. The same warmth. The same fear.
He looked at his hands. They trembled faintly—still remembering the impact, still feeling her touch.
"What was that…?" Adrian muttered. "Why did it feel so real?"
He swung his legs off the bed, letting his bare feet touch the cold marble floor. Rex, his small lion cub spirit beast, stirred at the side of his bed and yawned softly.
"Sorry, Rex. I didn't mean to wake you," Adrian whispered.
The cub tilted its head, blinking its bright golden eyes. "Rawr?"
Adrian smiled faintly. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Just… had a strange dream."
He rubbed his temples, trying to shake the unease, when—
Evan…
The voice came again. Soft. Faint.
Right beside his ear.
He froze.
His breath caught in his throat.
"Who's there?" he whispered, his voice low.
No answer.
He stood, scanning the dimly lit room. The moonlight cast long shadows across the bookshelves and curtains. The fireplace crackled faintly, but the air was cold.
"Show yourself," Adrian said again, this time firmer.
And then—
A faint light shimmered at his window.
A small symbol glowed faintly—spiral lines forming what looked like an ancient rune.
Adrian's eyes widened.
That wasn't supposed to be there.
He walked closer, heart pounding. The rune pulsed softly, almost like it was breathing. Then a voice—deep, distant—echoed faintly through the air.
"You're still the same, Evan."
Adrian froze mid-step. His throat went dry.
Evan.
That name again.
The name from his dream. The name no one should know.
He whispered shakily, "Who… who are you?"
The rune shimmered brighter. The air seemed to hum around him.
"Someone who remembers."
Adrian clenched his fists. "You were the one from before. The one who knew my name."
Silence.
Then the voice, almost amused, replied, "You remember, don't you? The promise you made… before you died?"
"I—" He stopped, the words caught in his throat. "No… I don't remember. Not clearly."
"Then remember," the voice whispered, faint but heavy. "Because soon… you'll need to."
The rune dimmed, its glow fading into the night.
And just like that, the voice was gone.
Adrian stood there for a moment, staring at the empty window. The moonlight seemed colder now. The air, heavier.
He took a deep breath and sat back on the edge of his bed, pressing a hand to his chest.
"'Evan,' huh…" he muttered under his breath. "Why does that sound like me? Like… who I was?"
Rex padded up beside him, nuzzling his leg softly. Adrian smiled faintly, scratching the cub's ear.
"Guess I shouldn't overthink it," he said quietly. "Dreams are dreams."
But deep inside, he knew better.
It wasn't a dream.
Not this time.
He looked back at the window, where the rune had disappeared.
"'The promise I made before I died'…" he murmured. "Just who the hell are you?"
The wind outside howled softly through the palace garden.
And though the rune was gone, a faint mark now glowed faintly on Adrian's palm—barely visible under the moonlight.
The same spiral symbol.
The same light from the void.
Adrian stared at it, feeling a strange warmth pulse through his skin.
He didn't know why, but he whispered anyway—
"I'll find you. Whoever you are."
Rex's tail flicked once, the cub letting out a quiet growl, as if agreeing.
And in that still moment, the prince of Arathia sat in silence—his heart split between two worlds.