CHAPTER 54: CHAPTER: 54 WHERE ENDINGS TURNED TO BEGAININGS

He ran like a madman, eyes burning with a deep, desperate yearning.

All the pain he had suffered before his regression, every scar, every torment, was gone from his gaze.

There was no hatred, no anger; only that raw, aching longing remained, pushing him forward.

He ran as if by reaching her, he might finally soothe the emptiness gnawing at his heart.

The corridor blurred past him until he reached her door. His breath came ragged, excitement and fear twisting inside him.

What if this was all an illusion? What if, the moment he reached out, everything vanished again?

He feared not just disappointment, but annihilation. If this dream shattered, not even his soul might remain to bear the grief.

But the hesitation didn’t last.

He raised his hand to knock, yet before his fingers could touch the door, it burst open.

A figure stood there.

Charlotte.

But she was not the same.

Two thin streams of blood traced down her cheeks like crimson tears, and her ruby eyes, once bright with life, now shimmered with the same longing that burned within him.

When she spoke, her voice trembled, soft as a memory.

"Long time no see... my love."

The sight of her shattered what little strength he had left. His knees gave way, and tears spilled freely, unstoppable.

"Yeah... it’s been a long time," he choked out, sobbing as the weight of years, pain, and regret finally poured out of him.

Charlotte wasn’t in any better shape.

The moment she saw him collapse, she broke down too, tears spilling as she threw herself into his arms.

He couldn’t keep his balance and fell, but she stayed there with him, trembling in his embrace.

Before his regression, they had both endured so much that even hearing their story would drive most people to despair.

The pain they suffered went beyond imagination, yet neither had surrendered.

Through every wound, every loss, they kept moving forward.

And now, at last, after all that torment, they were together again.

The years of loneliness and agony cracked open, spilling out in sobs.

They clung to each other, terrified that if they let go, even for a moment, the other might vanish like smoke, before they could memorize the warmth in their arms.

"Please... don’t leave me again," Charlotte whispered, her voice breaking between choked sobs as she clung to him with all her strength.

Vivian held her tighter, his own tears falling freely. In that moment, every torment, every scar, felt worth it.

"Don’t worry," he murmured softly. "I won’t leave you."

They both had questions, especially Charlotte, how they had returned, why they had suffered so much, what force had twisted time itself, but none of that mattered now.

Not when they could finally hold each other again.

So they stayed like that, lost in the warmth of the other’s embrace, afraid that if they let go, reality itself might take them apart once more.

They stayed like that, as the moon wandered across the sky,

until the night surrendered, and dawn softly breathed again.

To the world, it was merely another sunrise;

to them, it was a miracle reborn in light.

The night had been their darkness,

their unending torment, an abyss endured in silence.

And this dawn... it was their rebirth,

From the ashes, a song of birth,

Life returned to forgotten earth,

Spring awoke from winter’s dearth,

Dreams took flight beyond the mirth,

Poetry bloomed where once was dearth,

Water flowed to quench their thirst,

Flowers rose where rot had nursed,

Light returned to heal the worst,

Their new beginning after the burst.

And in their trembling hold, a new dawn breathed.

Together they stood where endings turned to beginnings.

They held each other tightly, afraid to let go, afraid that if they did, this fragile miracle might shatter.

Their tears were tears of joy, yet they wouldn’t stop; the release was too long in coming.

After a while, Vivian stirred and whispered softly,

"Charlotte... get up. It’s getting late."

"No," came her quiet reply. She clung to him tighter, her voice trembling.

"I don’t want to lose you again. Let’s just stay like this... forever. Or maybe we could leave this place, find a mountain somewhere, live there, just the two of us."

For a moment, the idea tempted him. The thought of peace, of a life untouched by pain, felt almost within reach.

But then, a shadow crossed his mind. A face. A memory of that hateful bastard.

Vivian’s eyes grew cold as he whispered, almost to himself,

"No... there’s someone who still needs to pay."

Hearing his words, Charlotte’s expression shifted. The haze of her illusion shattered, and clarity returned to her eyes.

She slowly rose from his embrace, her warmth fading into a cold stillness.

"Yeah," she whispered, her voice low and trembling with fury. "Someone needs to pay."

She already knew who it was.

When she’d seen Vivian trapped in that prison, she had seen him too, the one who had made him suffer, the one who had taken everything from them.

Her eyes darkened, a flicker of crimson light burning within them as she hissed the name through clenched teeth.

"Kafrik."

Vivian stayed silent. He didn’t ask how she knew.

From the way she spoke, from the look in her eyes, it was clear, she too had regressed.

She must have seen him in that other timeline, just as he had seen her mirroring his wounds.

He wanted to ask, but this wasn’t the time.

Charlotte’s voice broke through his thoughts, trembling with rage.

"Let’s drag him out... make him suffer the same way you did. No, worse." Her teeth clenched so tightly the words barely escaped.

Vivian met her gaze, his expression calm but firm, and shook his head.

"Not yet."

She blinked, startled by his restraint. He looked down, lost in thought for a moment before continuing.

"There’s someone bigger behind House Tramplin. Someone powerful. If we move now, we’ll just be chasing shadows."

Charlotte fell silent, her anger dimming into understanding. Her eyes softened as she listened.

Vivian exhaled slowly, then added in a grim voice,

"And Professor Garhard... he’s with them."

Charlotte froze. Her breath caught in her throat, and her eyes widened.

"What?" she whispered, the word barely audible.

"Professor Garhard... is with them?" Charlotte’s voice trembled. "How can that be? He was in the forest the whole time!"

Memories flashed through her mind, the exam, the chaos, Vivian’s sudden disappearance.

Through it all, Garhard had been there, calm and unshaken. The contradiction made her stomach twist.

Vivian’s next words cut through her confusion.

"Body double," he said quietly.

Charlotte frowned. "Body double?"

Vivian nodded, his eyes darkening as he remembered the voice of Kafrik echoing in his mind during the torture.

"That’s what Kafrik called it," he murmured.

"Garhard’s Intuition is called body double. It lets him create a doppelganger that carries half his strength."

He paused, his voice tightening. "I don’t know all the details, but... when he creates a copy of himself, it can act and think like him. And he can also make doppelgangers with different faces, but each one gets weaker."

The realization struck Charlotte like a blade. The man in the forest, the one she had trusted, might never have been Garhard at all.

Charlotte blinked, swallowing the shock. She recovered quicker than he expected. "Then how did you... disappear from the dungeon all of a sudden?" she asked.

Vivian drew a long breath and let it out in a slow sigh, then told her everything.

He described the trap: how they lured him by abducting Asmit and Subha, how he had fought Kafrik in a life-or-death clash, and how, in the middle of that fight, he was ambushed by the professor.

Each detail landed like cold rain; Charlotte’s face drained of color and her hands curled into fists as she listened.

When he finished, she snapped, "Can’t we go tell my father? He’ll believe us."

Vivian shook his head, voice low and steady. "No. Whoever’s behind House Tramplin is thorough. They won’t let us extract the truth that way. If we go public too soon, they’ll silence everything, and everyone. We can’t let them keep running this racket."

Charlotte’s voice trembled. "But if we—" She didn’t finish. The question hung between them like a blade.

After a pause, she forced herself to ask, steadier now, "Then what do we do?"

Vivian drew a sharp breath; the air around him seemed to harden.

His eyes went ice, cold and bright with a killing intent that made Charlotte flinch.

"We’ll make them speak," he said, each word measured. "We’ll repeat everything they did to us, only this time, we’ll be the ones asking the questions."

Charlotte’s face cupped in horror. "No, no, we can’t. What if something happens? I already lost you once. I can’t lose you again."

Her voice broke, desperate, clutching at the thin thread of the peace they’d just found.

Vivian watched her for a long, quiet beat. The tenderness in him didn’t vanish; it sharpened.

He stepped closer and took her trembling hands in his. "Nothing will repeat," he promised, voice low.

"I won’t throw us into the same trap. I have a way to pry the truth free, no matter what ward, curse, or mask they wrap themselves in."

Charlotte’s eyes searched his, searching for any hint of madness. "What... what way?"

Vivian let out a knowing smile. "I’ll tell you later," he said softly, "but for now... shall we talk about something else?"

His eyes held the same tenderness Charlotte once showed him.

Charlotte flashed a confused expression, tilting her head slightly to the side. "What do you want to talk about?" she asked.

He gave her a knowing smile, filled with yearning. Stepping closer, he whispered, "Let us be together forever, until our souls dissipate."

He paused, his gaze never leaving hers. "I’ve always wanted to say words meant only for you and no one else."

A gentle smile touched his lips as he pressed a tender kiss to her forehead. "No matter how many lives I may live..."

Charlotte was startled; she had never expected Vivian to take the initiative. Her face grew redder, her heart pounding in her chest.

He lifted her into his arms and looked deeply into her eyes.

Charlotte’s cheeks flushed even more crimson; her body trembled in anticipation and the pounding of her heart grew even more fiercer.

Her eyes glimmered with yearning as Vivian continued, his voice full of quiet conviction.

"I will always fall in love with you, in every single one of them."

He leaned closer, his reflection shining in her transparent eyes. "I will love you for eternity, Charlotte."

As the sun rose from the horizon, its gentle glow seemed to bless their love, a love that had defied time itself and the endless cycle of rebirth.

Their lips met, softly at first, then with the fierce tenderness of souls who had wandered through lifetimes of pain just to find each other again.

When they finally parted, Vivian smiled, a confident, grateful smile.

He looked at her flushed cheeks and the trembling of her body as he muttered,

"Thank you," he whispered. "Thank you for loving me."