He watched her step into her room, her ponytail swaying as she moved. She paused by the bed, pulling her bag onto it, and his gaze sharpened as her hands withdrew something familiar. A leather jacket. His leather jacket.
She ran her fingers over the creased fabric, smoothing it with a deliberate care that stirred something inside him. Then, without hesitation, she removed her clothes and slipped the jacket on, pausing as she drew in a deep breath. He saw it—the way she inhaled, as though trying to pull him from the very air around her.
A twisted smirk played on his lips. She didn't remember him—not yet. But her body remembered, her instincts remembered. That much was clear since interacting with her.
He leaned further into the shadows, cloaked by the darkness that had always been his refuge. The risks of being caught by them—the ones who hunted him—were undeniable. He wasn't naive to the danger. Yet for her, he would shoulder it all, even if it meant his end.
Because of memory or not, she belonged to him.
She always had. She always will.
Sliding back into the darkness, he let the shadows engulf him. Shadow travelling had never been his favourite means of movement; it twisted reality in ways that even demons found unsettling. But it was efficient.
When he emerged, the shift in energy hit him instantly. The Sungrail loomed ahead, its golden arch shimmering faintly under the artificial sun he had conjured over a millennium ago. This realm—the Shadow Realm—did not operate like the human world. Time moved differently here, stretching days into years and years into eternities.
He stood still for a moment, absorbing the faint hum of power emanating from the gateway. The air was heavy, charged with energy that rippled and hissed like static. Ruby approached, her bald head catching the artificial sunlight that bathed the landscape. Her dark armour glinted as she bowed deeply before him, her demeanour one of respect and unwavering loyalty.
"Your Highness," she greeted, holding out her hands as he shrugged off his jacket and passed it to her along with his keys and cap.
"Any news?" he asked, his tone curt. His patience was wearing thin, as it often did these days. The escaped demon still eluded him, wreaking havoc on realms that were not yet his to control.
"None yet, my prince," Ruby replied, her voice steady. "Mara continues her search for the rogue, but there's been no sign of it so far."
He turned from her, mounting the spiral staircase that wound up toward the mooncase of his castle. The structure, carved from obsidian and veined with streaks of silver, was a towering tribute to the darkness he so revered. Shadow flying would have been faster, but there was something satisfying about feeling the strain in his legs, the grounding sensation of his boots against stone.
"They wiped her memory again," he said, breaking the silence as Ruby followed behind him.
Ruby, ever the pragmatist, adjusted her glasses, her sharp eyes narrowing. "Again? That's the third time." She sighed in frustration. "How long will this go on, my lord? You've rebuilt her memories before. It seems they'll stop at nothing to keep you apart."
"They can try," he said, his voice laced with quiet menace. "But I'm tired of their interference."
As he ascended higher, his fingers traced the cold stone walls. It was a habit, one that anchored him as his mind churned. "I met her brother," he added, his tone lighter. "An amusing little thing. Protective, of course, but hardly a threat."
Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Did he recognise you, then?"
"No," he replied with a low chuckle. "But this is getting tedious, Ruby. My patience wears thin. How many times must I start over? How many times must she look at me like I'm a stranger?"
Ruby remained silent for a moment, then said, "You've waited this long, my prince. What's a little more time in the grand scheme of eternity?"
He reached the top of the staircase, pausing to glance back at her. His dark eyes glinted with something unyielding.
"Eternity isn't the problem," he said quietly. "It's the thought of her being his for even a moment longer."
With that, he turned and stepped into the darkness.