The Final Choice
The air around them hummed with power. Romeo and Venecia stood at the heart of the ritual circle, their fingers entwined, their bodies weary but unyielding. The ground beneath them pulsed with an ancient magic, shifting, whispering. This was the place where everything would be decided. Serapha loomed before them, golden light radiating from her like a dying sun. But her gaze was colder than it had ever been.
"You have done what no one before you has," the goddess murmured. "You have reached the end." Her voice slithered through the silence, wrapping around them like a noose. "But now, the choice is yours." She raised her hands, and two glowing sigils appeared in the air between them—one silver, one crimson.
Two fates.
One would set them free.
One would bind them together—forever.
Venecia's breath caught in her throat as Serapha spoke the words that would seal their destiny. "Option one: Sacrifice your love. Break the curse. You will be free. You will live normal, mortal lives. But you will forget each other." Romeo stiffened. "Option two: Defy fate. Stay together. But if you do, you risk being reborn again and again, thrown into another cycle, another tragedy." A terrible silence fell between them.
For the first time, they hesitated. Romeo turned to Venecia, searching her face. Her lips were pressed together, her eyes clouded with uncertainty. She was afraid. Afraid that if they chose love, they would be damned to suffer again. Afraid that the universe would tear them apart a thousand more times.
"Ven," he whispered, his voice aching. She swallowed hard. "Romeo, what if—" Her breath shuddered. "What if it happens again? What if we lose? What if we keep losing?"
Her fingers trembled in his. "What if forgetting is the only way to finally be at peace?" His chest tightened. "And what if it's not?" He stepped closer, voice raw. "Venecia, if we choose to forget, we lose something greater than fate." He pressed her hand against his heart. "We lose us." Her eyes filled with tears.
"But I don't want to see you die again. I don't want to watch you bleed." His grip on her tightened. "Then we fight. If there's a next life, we find each other faster. We fight harder. We break the cycle ourselves." Serapha's eyes darkened. "Choose now." Venecia inhaled sharply. And then, through the fear, she saw it—the truth she had always known. They had already won. Because love wasn't their curse. It was their power. Venecia exhaled, a single tear slipping down her cheek. Then, she lifted Romeo's hand and pressed a kiss to his palm.
"I choose you." The words shook the heavens.
Romeo smiled—brilliant, unbreakable. "In every lifetime," he whispered. "I choose you, too."
Their hands intertwined. Their marks—symbols of an eternity of suffering—burned with a blinding light. The circle shattered. A brilliant burst of golden energy erupted from them, spreading outward in waves, ripping through the curse itself.
Serapha's eyes widened in shock. "No." But it was too late. The magic binding them to fate collapsed. The chains of reincarnation snapped. The goddess herself stumbled back, her power breaking apart like dust. And for the first time in centuries— Romeo and Venecia were free.
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The world exploded in light. It was no ordinary light—this was something ancient, divine, absolute. It did not shine; it devoured. It did not warm; it burned. A pulse of pure energy ripped through the air, a shockwave that sent the trees bending like blades of grass, the sky splitting open, the earth cracking beneath their feet.
And then— It hit them all. Romeo's parents, standing at the edge of the ritual grounds, were thrown backward, their screams lost in the howling wind. Venecia's parents barely had time to shield their eyes before the force slammed into them, sending them crashing into the dirt. Liana and Damien—helpless, powerless—were hurled through the air, landing in a heap far away from the chaos.
Everything fell silent. When the dust settled, the world was not the same. The magic had faded. The glow that had surrounded Romeo and Venecia was gone. And in their place, the two lovers lay motionless on the shattered ground. Their fingers, once entwined, were still.
Their bodies unmoving. Their chests silent. For a long moment, no one spoke. No one dared to move. Then— A choked sob. Venecia's mother crawled forward, her fingers shaking as she reached for her daughter's lifeless form. "Venecia?" Her voice cracked, fragile as glass. "Venecia, baby, wake up—wake up!"
Romeo's father staggered to his feet, his face twisted in shock. His son—his only son—was gone. "No." His voice was barely a whisper. Then, louder, more desperate—"NO!" Liana, trembling, forced herself up, blood dripping from her scraped palms. She turned toward Damien, who was coughing, gasping for breath. And then she saw them. Romeo. Venecia. Unmoving. Her heart plummeted. "No," she whispered.
"No, no, no—" She stumbled forward, her vision blurred with tears. She dropped to her knees beside Venecia, grabbing her shoulders, shaking her. "Ven, wake up! This isn't funny—wake up!" Venecia didn't stir.
Damien crawled toward Romeo, his fingers pressing against his best friend's wrist, searching—begging—for a pulse.
Nothing. A broken sob tore from his throat. "No, man, you—you gotta wake up." He slapped Romeo's cheek lightly. "This isn't how it ends, okay? You promised. You promised!" But Romeo didn't answer. Venecia didn't answer. And the silence was unbearable.
Venecia's father turned to Romeo's parents, his eyes filled with rage and grief. "This is your fault." His voice shook. "Your son dragged my daughter into this madness!" Romeo's mother, her face streaked with dirt and tears, whirled on him. "Don't you DARE!" she screamed. "Your daughter did this! She led him into this cursed love! She—"
"Enough!" Venecia's mother shrieked, sobbing. She clutched her daughter's hand, rocking back and forth. "She's gone," she whispered. "She's gone..." The words broke something. And then, their grief turned to blame. Their pain needed a target. And the only ones left standing were Liana and Damien."You." Romeo's father's voice was like ice. His gaze landed on them with slow, seething fury. "You were supposed to protect them." Damien flinched. "We—we tried—"
"You failed." Venecia's father's voice was a whisper of pure venom. "And now they're dead." Liana felt her breath catch. "No," she murmured. "They can't be. They—" "Get away from them," Romeo's mother snapped.
"You have no right to be near them." Liana froze. Damien stood still. They had never felt so helpless. They had never felt so hated.And as the parents wept and raged, as the wind howled through the ruins of what had once been a battlefield, the two best friends could do nothing but stare at the broken bodies of the people they loved most. And pray that this wasn't the end.
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Thank you, my lovely readers, for joining me on this Journey. Unfortunately, the story has come to end. Don't forget to like and comment. Have a good day.
Yoh, yoh, yoh, i'm kidding (evil laugh)