With an open heart

Amid secrets, tensions, and life-altering revelations, Mike and Will are drawn into a deeply personal and supernatural journey. What if, to save their world, they first had to uncover the key to their own hearts?

Prologue :
A few months had passed since everyone reunited in Hawkins, following the horrors that had unfolded in the spring. The town was trying to regain a sense of normalcy, but the scars ran deep in the daily lives of those who had survived.

The Byers no longer had a home. Will now slept in the Wheeler's basement, while Jonathan and Joyce stayed in hotel rooms as they searched for a new place to live. Joyce, however, spent most of her time at Hopper's house.

Slowly, routine began to return. Classes had resumed for everyone-except Eleven. She trained alone, day after day, convinced that Vecna wasn't finished with them yet. This obsession kept her distant from the others, especially Mike.

Though they were still a couple, their relationship felt strained. Mike could sense the cold distance between them, but he couldn't figure out why. It felt as though everything had changed, though he didn't understand how or when.

One evening, driven by worry and confusion, he decided to talk to her. He brought up what Will had told him about the painting-the one he thought Eleven had asked for. This painting, which he had assumed was a gift from her, had been weighing on his mind. He hoped the conversation would put his doubts to rest. But instead of reassuring him, it only amplified them. Eleven explained that she had no knowledge of the painting...