Chapter 1 Hold Last Breath

Rain battered the cracked asphalt, pouring from a sky so dark it felt like the heavens were mourning. The world was painted in greys and reds-blood mixing with rainwater, winding down the road like veins across the earth. The bridge groaned beneath the weight of silence, of death, of sorrow.

Huyan knelt in the middle of it all, soaked to the bone, breath shallow, arms trembling. He held Aya against his chest-her white dress clung to her skin, now stained deep crimson where the knife still lay buried in her heart. Her body was limp, but her fingers clutched his coat, as if sheer love could hold off death just a moment longer.

"Aya... hold on," he whispered, voice cracked and raw. "The ambulance is coming... you'll be okay... please..."

His words trembled with desperation, each syllable a thread unraveling. Rain slid down his face, blending with the tears he refused to acknowledge. His body shook-blood poured from a dozen wounds-but none of it hurt more than the moment slipping away.

Aya's hand rose, feather-light, brushing his cheek. Her fingers left a smear of blood on his skin. Her touch was ice.

Still, she smiled-weak, broken, defiant.

"Don't cry, Huyan," she murmured, breathless. "I always wanted to take away your sadness... If you cry now... then everything I ever did will mean nothing."

She coughed, blood bubbling from her lips.

"Stop talking," he begged. "Please... don't say goodbye. You're my happiness. If you're gone... there's nothing left. No sun. No sky. Just silence."

Her lips curved, barely a smile. Her eyes found him-always found him.

"Where the hell is the ambulance?!" Huyan screamed into the storm, voice cracking. He clutched her tighter. "I won't let you die. Do you hear me?! I'll save you. No matter what it takes-no matter what it costs!"

Then-he stood.

Bleeding. Shaking. Broken-but moving.

He lifted her in his arms, her head resting against his shoulder, and ran. Boots splashed through puddles of blood and rain, the bridge stretching endlessly.

"Put me down," Aya whispered. "Save yourself. Leave me..."

He didn't answer.

"There is no life... without you," he finally said, the words cutting deeper than any blade.

Behind them, a body stirred. A man-face torn, one eye sealed shut from a gash-dragged himself from the pile of corpses. Fingers reached for a pistol slick with blood.

"You want life, brother?" he muttered. "Then die for it."

The gunshot cracked like thunder.

The bullet struck Huyan in the back. He stumbled, knees buckling-but didn't fall. Blood poured from the wound. Aya screamed, raw and helpless.

"Run! Huyan! Leave me... live!"

He turned his head. Saw the smirk. The raised gun.

He kept running.

"If we survive... we survive together," he breathed. "Without you... I don't want to breathe."

Another shot. It tore through his chest. His legs gave out.

Aya slipped from his arms.

Huyan collapsed beside her, coughing blood, vision dimming. Rain fell like a curtain over the stage of their last act.

The man behind them dropped the gun. "My job's done," he whispered, then slumped and moved no more.

Aya crawled toward him, every inch a war. Her arms shook. Nails scraped the pavement.

"Huyan..." she sobbed. "Why... why did you..."

He dragged himself toward her. One arm. One breath at a time. Their hands reached.

Fingers brushed. Then intertwined.

"If we live again..." she choked, "I don't want to meet you. Because loving me only brought you pain. You're dying because of me..."

He shook his head.

"In every life... I'll find you. I'll love you. And I'll die in your arms if that's what it takes... again and again."

She smiled through tears. Her lips parted-but no words came. Her chest stilled. Her hand slipped from his.

With trembling fingers, he closed her eyes.

"I will find you," he whispered against her cold skin. "In every life... I will make you fall in love with me again."

He pulled her into one last embrace, burying his face in her neck as the light faded from his eyes.

The storm did not stop.

Minutes later, sirens pierced the silence. Paramedics arrived.

But all they found was stillness.

Blood. Bodies.

Two lovers tangled in death.

Time held its breath.

Then-

A gasp.

A jolt.

Huyan's eyes flew open.

He choked-gasping like a man pulled from the bottom of the ocean. His body was whole. Clean. Dry.

He sat up, drenched in sweat.

He was in his bed.

Morning sunlight filtered through the curtains.

He looked at his hands. No blood. No wounds. But his chest still ached-like something had been torn from inside him.

His lips trembled.

He didn't know her name. Didn't know her face. But deep within his soul, a whisper echoed.

Aya.

And he knew-

Somewhere, somehow...

He had once promised her:

"I will find you in every life."