What was a 'Soulmate'?

A Soulmate is a person with whom one shares a feeling of deep or natural affinity. This may involve similarity, love, romance, platonic relationships, comfort, intimacy, sexuality, sexual activity, spirituality, compatibility, and trust.

A Soulmate was the other half of a person's soul. Some religions believed that the soul was naturally divided into two halves when it was born, and only by merging with the destined partner would one become whole again.

This was one of the factors that led to the creation and sanctity of marriage.

Many people wished to meet their Soulmates and feel whole again, to feel like life was worth living, a reason to continue their days to the very end. Unfortunately, due to the ever-expanding size of the world and the distance, very few were lucky enough to meet their Soulmates.

A successful marriage did not denote the connection of Soulmates. It could be that both parties had a fondness for each other that was deep, or that they didn't want to break the house in order to make their children's lives hard.

Most marriages ended in divorce anyway, as both parties could not even form a suitable connection or commitment, or that connection had degraded over time.

However, some did meet their Soulmates. The interesting thing was that, unlike expectations where it would be mutual love at first sight with butterflies in their stomachs, most Soulmates met for the first time in casual situations, or even in unfriendly ones.

It took a variable period of variable actions and reactions from both parties for them to realize the deep connection they had to each other that pierced even the soul.

This was usually depicted in romance media. Two different people would meet and endure tribulations together before finally sharing their feelings and live happily ever after.

That connection wasn't purely romantic, it transcended that. Even the most common romance in fiction connected two prospective souls together through a bond that most of their creators did not even understand.

It was entirely possible for two people who at one point had hated each other to death to become the most devoted of lovers. It was also possible for two people who did not have a lick of interest in another person to realize that they could not live without them in their lives.

The causes varied. It could be destiny, or it could be the work of circumstances.

When two people discovered their connection as Soulmates, it was exceedingly hard to break them apart. The only way to do so was death, to be frank, which was something else on its own.

One can easily spot Soulmates from afar, especially looking at some widows or widowers who can only dream of passing away to meet their deceased partners in the next world, unable to move on.

Shanks, was an example of this.

Darius was another.

In his life on Earth, he had experienced many things that had ultimately shaped him up to be the man he was now. However, nothing had ever changed the trajectory of his life and helped him grow more than his experiences with his late wife.

The current calm, wise and intelligent man that Darius was right now was heavily shaped by her, just as he too had shaped her into the sharp and fierce woman she had been before passing away.

However, when they had met, neither had been even close to this. In fact, their meeting had been one of intrigue and amusement, something Darius would not forget in his life, something that even as time seemed to have frozen around him, his mind every so often delved into.

This was his first time seeing her in Faust, and as such, his mind sank into memories of when he had first met her on Earth, back in his early days…

...

31st December 2107 AD, in the North Pacific Ocean, 100 kilometers away from the coast of Fanning Island.

A luxury yacht floated gently above the seas, the moonlight shining upon its busy deck lazily. The yacht was brightly illuminated with various lights, easily marking it on the calm waters from miles away.

Currently, in a private lounge within the yacht, people were seated around a coffee table on various luxurious couches. The decor in the room was top-notch, from the expensive paints, to the specially ordered carpet, and even the furniture that probably cost more than 4 years of colleague tuition, shone in the lit room.

There were a total of four couches around the coffee table. The one to the north seated 3 people, two men, and one woman. The men sat on either side of the frowning woman in silence.

To the west, and the right of the woman was a single sofa that had only one elderly man seated within, who calmly sipped some wine with interest.

To the east, and the left of the woman, was a two-seater couch with two men on it. Both of them were young fellows who wore curious and amused smiles on their faces.

They also held drinks in hand as their eyes darted between the woman to the north and the person to the south.

To the south, and opposite the woman and her two aides seated beside her, was a single young man in a three-seater couch. He wore a light blue Hawaiian pattern shirt that was unbuttoned and folded on either side, displaying most of his chest and abs.

He also wore matching blue Hawaiian shorts, his folded legs showing his smooth calf. On his feet were some beach slippers, and around his neck was a wooden rosary.

His slightly dark-skin, slicked-back black hair, and hazel eyes marked him as an exotic youth with handsome androgynous features. As he too sipped from a glass, one couldn't help but notice that while the others were dressed formally in suits, he alone was dressed casually.

When added to his arrogant smirk that showed the limits of pride, one could likely understand why the formally dressed woman was frowning deeply at this time.