The air in the Astral Garden had shifted. Ren could feel it in the way the petals no longer floated but hung heavy, like they were holding their breath.
Eira stood at the edge of the crystalline pool, her reflection flickering. "You shouldn't have come alone."
Ren brushed past the final vine barrier and stepped closer, his boots splashing softly in shallow water. "She called me."
"Who?"
He pointed toward the altar. The ancient stone structure in the heart of the garden had begun to pulse—slow and deliberate, like a heartbeat buried deep beneath the ground.
Eira's breath caught. "That… that's not possible. The Archive hasn't awakened in centuries."
"It did for me."
The Archive of Souls was said to be where the gods stored the memories of those who had been erased — not dead, not alive, just… forgotten.
As Ren stepped forward, glyphs on the stone lit one by one, responding to his presence. His flame mark, usually dormant unless in danger, began to glow across his chest. Eira gasped when she saw it through the torn edge of his shirt.
"You activated a second tier of the pact," she whispered. "But that's—Ren, that's forbidden. The moment you step further, you might…"
Ren turned back. "Might what?"
Her eyes trembled. "You might remember something that was taken for a reason."
He swallowed hard. "Then I'll face it."
He placed his palm on the Archive.
A hum vibrated through his bones. The glyphs shifted—some of them ancient symbols even Eira didn't recognize. Light spiraled upward, wrapping Ren in threads of silver fire.
SYSTEM NOTICE: Archive of Souls Accessed.WARNING: Pact signature anomaly detected.Do you wish to proceed and retrieve the locked memory fragment?
"Yes," Ren whispered.
The moment he said it, he was no longer in the garden.
He stood in a realm of white mist.
Nothing but silence.
Then—a voice. Soft. Familiar. Female.
"You promised you'd remember me… even if they erased me."
He spun around. "Who are you?!"
A silhouette stepped forward. Barefoot. Cloaked in a veil of gold mist. Her voice trembled as if she'd waited centuries just to say one thing:
"I loved you before the flame. Before the gods. Before the system."
Ren staggered backward. His heart thundered in his chest. The way she said "you"—
He knew her.
Suddenly, her veil dropped.
Hair like stormlight. Eyes like dusk before a divine war. She reached for his hand, and when her skin touched his, something burned behind his eyes.
Memories not his—but were his—flashed like a storm:
Her blood on his hands.
Her whisper: "Don't let them take me."
A crimson altar. A deal. A god's laughter.
The moment he was reset — and she was erased.
He fell to his knees. "What did I do?"
She knelt with him. "You gave me up to save the others."
SYSTEM ALERT: Soul Fragment Recovered.Warning: Memory conflict may destabilize current pacts.Initiating safe return in 10… 9…
She leaned closer. "My name… is Seris. You once called me your Empress."
Then everything shattered into light.
Ren woke with a jolt in the garden.
His body was soaked. His mark pulsed erratically. Eira knelt beside him, eyes wide. "Ren, what happened?! You collapsed for a full minute."
He sat up slowly. The garden felt… quieter. Lighter.
"I remembered someone." He looked into her eyes. "Someone I once loved."
Eira's expression froze. Then, her voice cracked. "Did you… love her more than us?"
He looked away.
"…I don't know."
Later that night, as stars bled softly above the garden canopy, Eira stood alone near the flame pool. Ren approached quietly.
She turned, her usual strength dimmed. "Am I just another replacement?"
He stepped close, gently brushing a strand of hair from her face. "No. You're not her. You're you. And what I feel for you isn't shadowed by the past."
Their faces were inches apart now. Her hand rested on his chest.
"You always say the right things," she whispered. "But right now, I don't want words."
He blinked. "What do you want?"
Eira leaned in. "I want to feel that I matter."
And then she kissed him — not like a friend, or even a bondmate, but with the desperation of someone who had waited too long.
Ren didn't pull away.
His hands slid to her waist. Her body molded against his as the kiss deepened. When she gasped softly into his mouth, he lifted her slightly, carrying her back into the shelter of the stone garden wall.
For a moment, all the gods were silent.
SYSTEM NOTE: New bond evolution detected.Waifu Eira: Affection Level [72%] → [89%]New Title Unlocked: Flamebound Savior
They broke apart, breathing hard, foreheads pressed.
"We should stop," Eira whispered.
Ren swallowed, fighting the heat under his skin. "Then why don't we?"
She smiled faintly. "Because you didn't let go either."
The night held them like a secret.
And somewhere deep inside the Archive, a sealed name stirred.
Seris.