The world didn't end in silence. It ended in fire and rain.
When Seraphine opened her eyes, she was lying on black sand. The sky above her was not a sky at all — it was alive, shifting like smoke with veins of red light moving through it. Her body ached as if every bone had been broken and put back together by someone who didn't know how to heal.
For a long time, she didn't move. She just lay there, listening. There was no wind, no birds, no sound except her own heartbeat. And then she felt it — that faint, familiar pull deep inside her chest.
Lucien.
She pushed herself up, trembling, scanning the endless dark around her. The sea behind her was thick and black like oil, waves moving slow and heavy. The air tasted of ash and sorrow.
"Lucien!" Her voice cracked. It echoed, but there was no answer.
She stumbled forward, calling again, again, until her voice was gone. The world felt empty without him, too quiet, too hollow. And yet she knew he was somewhere close — she could feel him. That bond between them, the mark over her heart, was burning softly under her skin.
She followed that burn like a compass. The more it hurt, the closer she was.
After what felt like hours, she found him. He was half-buried in the sand, wings torn, face pale, eyes closed. He looked almost peaceful, and that scared her more than anything.
"Lucien," she whispered, falling beside him. She pressed her hands against his chest. "Please, open your eyes. Don't leave me here alone."
For a moment, nothing. Then a faint shiver moved through him. His eyes opened — dark, heavy, beautiful.
"Seraphine…"
Tears spilled down her cheeks before she could stop them. "You came back to me."
He gave a weak smile. "We fell together. I told you I wouldn't let go."
She laughed softly, but it broke halfway into a sob. "Where are we?"
Lucien looked around slowly, his expression darkening. "Between worlds. The gods' punishment. They didn't kill us… they buried us here."
"Buried?"
"In the realm of the lost," he said. "This is where forgotten souls wander. No life. No death. Just… forever."
Seraphine swallowed hard. "So this is what we earned for loving each other?"
His voice was low. "This is what it costs to touch what's forbidden."
For a long while, they didn't speak. She rested her head on his chest, listening to the slow beat of his heart. It was steady, real — the only sound that made sense in a world that didn't.
When he finally stood, his wings dragged behind him, heavy and broken. She helped him, her fingers trembling as they brushed over the torn feathers.
"Does it hurt?" she asked.
He looked down at her with that same quiet sadness. "Everything hurts here."
They walked together across the endless black desert. There was no light, no stars, just the faint glow of their curse lighting the way. Sometimes she thought she saw shadows moving in the distance, whispering names she didn't recognize. The realm felt alive — but not with kindness.
Days passed, or maybe it was hours. Time didn't exist here. Seraphine began to dream even when she was awake. She saw flashes of her old world — the temple walls, the faces of those who once called her pure. But the memories felt far away now, fading like smoke between her fingers.
Once, she turned to Lucien and said softly, "Do you ever wish we hadn't met?"
He stopped walking. His eyes were tired, but they softened when he looked at her. "If I say yes, I'm lying. Even if I could turn back time, I'd still find you."
"Even knowing it would end like this?"
He reached out, brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Especially knowing that."
Her chest tightened. She wanted to say something, but words felt too small for what she felt. So she just nodded and kept walking beside him.
Then, one night — if it could even be called night — the ground began to move. The black sand shifted, rippling like water. The air grew heavy, filled with whispers.
Lucien grabbed her arm. "Stay close."
"What's happening?"
"They've found us."
Out of the shadows, figures began to rise — tall, faceless, covered in ash. Their eyes glowed faint white, their voices empty. They were not alive, not dead. Just lost.
One of them spoke, its voice echoing like a broken bell. "You don't belong here."
Lucien stepped in front of her. "Neither do you."
The creature tilted its head. "You've brought light into the dark. That's forbidden."
Seraphine felt a chill crawl up her spine. "We didn't mean to—"
"You did," it said. "And for that, the realm remembers."
Before she could move, the ground split open beneath them. Dark fire burst out, swallowing everything. She screamed, reaching for Lucien's hand, but he was already falling, the darkness pulling him away.
"Lucien!" she cried, her voice tearing through the air.
He looked up at her, reaching, shouting her name. Then everything went black.
When she woke again, she was alone.
The silence was heavier now. The mark on her chest burned brighter, and she realized it was pulling her somewhere — deep into the heart of this world. She didn't know what waited there, but she knew she had to go.
She walked until her feet bled, until her body shook with exhaustion. Every step hurt, but she kept going because love doesn't die easy — not even here.
At last, she came to a river of glass. It wasn't water. It was memory. Every reflection showed a different version of herself — the child who believed in light, the girl who prayed to gods that didn't listen, the woman who chose darkness because it loved her back.
She fell to her knees, crying softly. "Why can't love be enough?"
A voice behind her whispered, "Because the gods envy what they can't control."
She turned — Lucien stood there. But he was different. His eyes were darker, his skin marked with glowing veins of fire. The realm had changed him.
She ran to him, but he didn't move. When she touched his hand, it was cold as stone.
"Lucien?"
He smiled faintly, but it wasn't the same smile. "You shouldn't have come."
"I couldn't stay away."
He stepped back, his wings unfolding — now black and burning. "I'm not what I was. The realm claimed me."
"No," she whispered. "I can bring you back."
He shook his head. "You can't save me without losing yourself."
Tears streamed down her face. "Then I'll be lost too."
He looked at her for a long time, eyes full of pain and love and something beyond both. Then he reached for her, his hand trembling. "If we do this, there's no turning back."
She pressed her palm over the mark on her chest. "There never was."
When their hands met, the ground erupted in light. The river shattered. The sky cracked open. Their souls intertwined completely — no longer separate, no longer cursed and cursed against.
The realm screamed as it broke apart. The lost were freed, the shadows turned to ash.
And when the light finally faded, they stood together in a place that wasn't heaven or hell — just peace.
Lucien looked at her, his voice soft and broken. "You changed everything."
She smiled through her tears. "No. We did."
He pulled her close, and for the first time, the silence wasn't heavy anymore. It was gentle. It was home.
Because love — even forbidden, even punished — had found a way to become eternal.