The light faded. The boy was gone.
For the first time in ages, silence filled the celestial garden. The air still shimmered faintly where his soul had stood moments ago, a trace of warmth left behind—something real, something human.
The Goddess of Eternity stood motionless beneath the great tree of eternity. Silver leaves rustled softly above her, their glow reflecting in her eyes—eyes that had seen stars born and die, that had witnessed the beginning and end of countless worlds. Yet now, for the first time, she didn't know what to say.
Her fingers brushed lightly against her chest. There it was—that feeling. A faint pulse, steady and warm, beating just beneath her divine essence. His presence. His bond. His thread.
"…Strange," she whispered. The word carried a hint of disbelief, almost fragile. "How strange… for a mortal to leave an echo in the heart of a god."
She slowly turned toward the spot where the last specks of light disappeared, her gaze softening. "You really did it… didn't you?"
She hadn't expected this. Not him. Not the way he spoke to her without fear, not the way he looked at her—like she wasn't a goddess sitting above all life, but a woman he wanted to understand. To cherish.
It was absurd. Unthinkable. Yet somehow… it happened.
Her lips curved faintly, almost against her will. "That foolish boy…"
A small breeze stirred, brushing through her hair. The scent of eternity shifted, faintly sweet. Her reflection wavered in the waters nearby—yet the face she saw there wasn't the same serene, emotionless deity she had been for millennia. There was color in her cheeks. Life in her eyes.
She let out a quiet, breathless laugh. "I… am blushing? How ridiculous."
Her laughter echoed gently through the garden, mingling with the songs of light that drifted in the air. But even as she smiled, something deep within her chest tightened—a quiet ache she couldn't explain.
When she closed her eyes, she could still see him: the way he stood tall despite his fragile soul, the spark of determination in his voice when he said he'd return.
That memory lingered, vivid and alive.
"The universe accepted our bond," she murmured. "A mortal and a goddess… bound by will, not destiny."
Her gaze lifted toward the distant sky, where countless realms shimmered like scattered diamonds. Somewhere far below, in one of those fragile worlds, his soul was being reborn—small, human, yet carrying the mark of divinity.
"My husband," she whispered, the words unfamiliar yet strangely comforting on her tongue. Alex."
The name alone made her chest flutter. A dangerous, mortal feeling she had long forgotten. She touched her lips, as if the memory of his words had left warmth there.
"Grow strong," she said softly. "And when the time comes… find your way back to me."
The divine garden glowed brighter for a brief moment, as if responding to her wish. Then, slowly, the light dimmed.
She turned away, her expression calm again, but her steps lighter—almost human.
For the first time since the birth of time itself, the Goddess of Eternity felt something she had never once known.
Hope.