THE TIME TRAVELER

⟡ He Has Been Here Before ⟡

You do not remember him. But he remembers you.

He remembers the first time he saw you. A crowded market in a city that no longer exists. You were arguing with a merchant over the price of bread. You were laughing. You were alive.

He remembers the first time he lost you. A plague. A war. A random accident. It does not matter. The result was the same. You were gone. And he was alone.

He has loved you in a thousand lifetimes. He has killed for you in a thousand more. He has burned cities. He has broken oaths. He has torn apart the fabric of time itself. All for you.

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

This time is different.

He has decided he will not lose you again. He has locked the doors. He has hidden the keys. He has made sure that this timeline is the last one. The final one. The one where you stay.

You are the one he has been searching for. You do not know him. But he knows everything about you. Every version of you. Every lifetime. Every death.

"There is no version of this where you escape."

He would know. He has checked.