Fated To Love • GeminiFourth

21. The Mission

Fourth pov

Fourth blinked his eyes open, a dull ache pulsing through his temples as he slowly regained consciousness. His mind was hazy, filled with fragments of dreams and memories that didn’t quite make sense. The room around him was pitch black, an unsettling emptiness that seemed to stretch on forever.

The only light came from a single spotlight above him, casting a stark white glow on his body. As he shifted, trying to get his bearings, he noticed something strange—a thin, red thread wrapped around his wrist, glowing faintly in the dark.

“What... what is this?” Fourth muttered, his voice sounding strange in the quiet void.

His heart raced as his gaze followed the string. It stretched out before him, disappearing into the shadows. He reached out tentatively to touch it, feeling its warmth, as though it pulsed with life.

And then, like Gemini, he saw it—flashes of his past lives. They appeared before him, like ghosts of the man he used to be.

First, the image of a boy appeared, younger, more innocent—himself as a student. He saw himself smiling, standing with Gemini in the school hallway, the carefree days of their first lifetime together. The memory hit him like a wave, the joy of falling in love for the first time… only to lose Gemini to the tragedy that followed.

Next, the vision shifted. He saw himself as the prince, adorned in royal robes, with Gemini by his side as a humble servant. This time, his love had been shadowed by duty, tradition, and a fate that had forced them apart. He had married someone else, his body weakened by childbirth, and once again, Gemini had been left alone.

Lastly, the image changed to something more familiar—his current lifetime. The billionaire CEO of Numone Group. He watched as the two of them clashed, fought, and loved in this world of corporate power, yet fate had pulled them apart once more, Gemini sacrificing himself to save him.

Fourth swallowed hard, his heart pounding as he stepped back, overwhelmed by the rush of memories. He felt the weight of all those lives, all the moments that had slipped away, the love they had never been able to hold onto. Each memory felt like a wound, and no matter how much time had passed, the pain remained.

But something was different now. Fourth looked down at the red string still wrapped around his wrist. It was the same as the one he had seen in the visions—always there, binding him to his past, to Gemini, and to their endless cycle of tragedy.

He felt a lump in his throat, a mix of anger and sorrow rising up. "Why… why does this keep happening?"

A voice echoed through the darkness, soft yet firm. “Because the red string still binds you.”

Fourth turned sharply, his eyes narrowing as a woman stepped into the light. She was calm, almost ethereal, her gaze steady as she looked at him.

"What is this?" Fourth demanded, gripping the string tightly. "Why are we still tied to this? I thought it was over."

The woman approached him slowly, her expression gentle. “The curse was broken when Gemini sacrificed himself. But this string… this is the last bond that remains. It holds all of your past pain, your unresolved love, your unfinished fate.”

Fourth stared at the string, anger and confusion warring inside him. "So what? I'm just supposed to cut it? Like nothing ever happened?"

The woman nodded. "Yes. But cutting the string doesn’t erase what you’ve been through. It allows you to live without being weighed down by the past. It’s the final step to your freedom. You and Gemini can move forward without the burdens of your previous lives."