"The past does not vanish, it merely learns to whisper in the language of dreams."
The city woke before I did.
The sound of motorbikes, shouting vendors, and the faint hum of traffic outside the window filled the small apartment. For a moment, I just stared at the cracked ceiling and tried to remember what century it was.
Then I felt it again. That strange pull inside my chest, like a thread being tugged by unseen hands.
I dragged myself up from the bed and caught sight of the mirror. The reflection staring back was still alien to me. Aiden Vale. Twenty years old. Brown hair that refused to stay flat. Eyes that didn't belong to the woman I used to be.
Lady Ariselle was gone.
At least, that was what I kept telling myself.
I touched the mirror. "Why me?"
The reflection didn't answer, of course. It just stared back, silent and confused, like it shared my question.
I made coffee with trembling hands. The old kettle hissed like a serpent, the smell sharp and bitter. It was ridiculous how something so mundane could feel like an ancient ritual when you used to summon fire from your palms.
Maya called from the hallway. "You coming to work today or what?"
Her voice jolted me back.
Right. Work. The bar. The place where that man had saved me last night.
"Yeah," I said quickly. "I'll be there."
As I walked through the morning air, I couldn't shake off the memory of those silver eyes. The way he'd looked at me not with curiosity, but recognition. As if he had seen me before. As if he knew who I really was.
It was impossible, I told myself.
No one could remember a past life, not even me completely. My memories came in flashes, like fragments of a shattered mirror. Faces blurred by time. The smell of iron and rain. The warmth of a hand that had once held mine before a battlefield turned to ash.
But that name Elias still echoed in my skull like a haunting melody.
By the time I reached the bar, the world had settled into its usual rhythm.
Maya was wiping down the counter, humming off-key. The air smelled of beer and lemon polish. Everything looked painfully normal.
Yet my hands wouldn't stop trembling.
"You okay?" Maya asked, noticing.
"Yeah," I lied again. "Just didn't sleep much."
She gave me a look that said she didn't believe me, but she didn't push it.
We worked in silence for a while, arranging glasses and checking the supply room. It was almost peaceful until the front door opened.
The world seemed to pause.
And there he was.
The man from last night.
The one who had pulled me out of darkness with nothing but a touch and a stare sharp enough to cut glass.
He was different now clean suit, no trace of the chaos from before. But the eyes were the same. Cold silver. Calculating.
He walked straight to the bar counter like he'd been here a thousand times before.
Maya straightened, whispering, "Whoa. Who's that?"
I couldn't move. My heart pounded in my ears.
"Morning," he said, his gaze landing on me. "You work here."
It wasn't a question.
I nodded, unable to look away.
"I wanted to check if you were unharmed." His voice was even, yet there was something dangerous about how carefully he chose his words. "That man last night. Did he hurt you?"
"No," I said. "You came in time."
He studied me for a long moment, eyes tracing something invisible around me. "Good."
Then he smiled barely. It was the kind of smile that didn't reach the eyes, but for some reason, it made my breath catch.
"Elias," he said, offering his hand. "Elias Thorn."
My pulse skipped.
That name.
The name from my dreams.
The one I'd whispered into the void of centuries.
I took his hand, and for a second, the world tilted.
The noise of the bar faded. The air shimmered faintly.
And in that sliver of silence, I saw it images flashing through my mind like lightning.
Armor. Blood. A battlefield lit by flames.
A voice shouting my name Ariselle!
And that same silver gaze staring at me from across a sea of fire.
Then it was gone.
Just a blink, and I was back behind the counter, breathless.
He looked at me strangely. "Are you all right?"
"I yeah." I swallowed hard. "Just dizzy."
Elias nodded slowly, but his eyes didn't leave me. "You've changed," he said quietly, almost to himself. "But your soul it feels the same."
My throat went dry. "What did you just say?"
Before he could answer, Maya returned from the kitchen, breaking the moment.
Elias straightened, his mask of calm sliding back into place.
"I'll see you again, Aiden," he said, turning toward the door.
And as he walked out, I realized something chilling.
I never told him my name.
The rest of the day passed in a blur.
Customers came and went. Orders were taken, drinks were poured, but my mind wasn't there.
It was stuck replaying the way his hand felt when it touched mine warm, grounding, almost too familiar.
Every time I blinked, I saw flashes of that other life.
The clang of swords.
A woman's scream.
A promise whispered under falling stars.
And always those same silver eyes.
By the time the bar closed, I was exhausted. Maya said goodnight, locking the door behind her, and I walked home through the neon-lit streets, trying to breathe through the confusion swirling in my chest.
Who was Elias Thorn?
Why did his name feel like a scar in my memory?
I reached the small apartment and collapsed onto the bed.
The city lights painted stripes across the ceiling.
I stared at them until they blurred into silver ribbons, drifting through my vision like memories I wasn't supposed to have.
Then the whisper started.
Soft at first.
Almost like the rustle of silk.
"Aiden "
I froze.
The voice was feminine familiar in a way that made my heart ache.
"Who's there?" I whispered.
Silence.
Then, faintly, the voice came again, clearer this time, echoing from somewhere deep inside my head.
You are not lost, my child. The veil between worlds is thinning.
I sat up abruptly. "What does that mean?"
The mirror across the room shimmered. For a second, I saw a reflection that wasn't mine long hair, pale skin, armor glinting under moonlight. A woman's face, regal and kind, yet weary beyond words.
Ariselle.
The name burst in my chest like a forgotten prayer.
My past self staring right back at me.
She smiled faintly. "He has found you."
My breath caught. "Elias?"
Her expression softened, almost sad. "He does not remember the vows you once shared. The bond must be rekindled, or the curse will consume you both."
"Curse?" I whispered.
But before she could answer, the mirror cracked sharply, the image shattering into silver dust that vanished in the air.
The room went dark again.
I sat there for what felt like hours, trembling.
Everything inside me screamed that this wasn't just madness.
That the world I'd left behind was clawing its way back into the present.
I pressed a hand to my chest. The same warmth from before pulsed beneath my skin, steady and alive.
And then my phone buzzed.
An unknown number.
A message.
Elias: We need to talk. Tomorrow. Don't ignore this.
My heart jumped.
I wanted to reply, but my fingers wouldn't move. Instead, I stared at the message until the screen dimmed.
Outside, thunder rumbled somewhere over the city.
The rain started, slow and steady, washing against the glass.
I lay back, eyes open, listening to the storm.
Somewhere deep down, beneath all the fear, a strange truth began to bloom.
This wasn't a coincidence.
Elias Thorn wasn't just a man who saved me.
He was the echo of something ancient something unfinished.
And whether I wanted it or not, our story wasn't over.