Merlin is sad for centuries until Arthur returns
OR
Merlin wipes his own memory and forgets Arthur, but lives happily
This is so tuff.
Okay, so I’m going to have to go with Merlin is sad for centuries and here’s why:
Personally, if I were bonded with someone for life, I would never want to forget them. If I had that much love for someone, I think that outweighs the pain. Love hurts, but some people are worth waiting for.
I don’t think Merlin would ever want to forget Arthur or Gwen or Gwaine or Camelot and everyone who lived there. I think he would be able to turn his hurt into a source of hope for the future.
Of course, it wouldn’t be easy to wait a thousand years for his soulmate, but I don’t think he would ever even think about forgetting him. I think he would be scared to forget him. He is literally the only living piece of Arthur’s legacy, and forgetting him would mean that he really is gone. If he knows Arthur will come back, he wouldn’t leave him alone like that.
Arthur is literally his only reason for living, as sad as it is. If he doesn’t remember Arthur, he would lose his sense of purpose.
So I don’t think Merlin would wipe his own memory BUT if he happened to lose his memory because of some random magical event, but then regains it when Arthur comes back, THAT is a fic idea right there. Angsty feels for the soul. Merlin is living through the years without memory of Arthur, and he constantly gets these feelings of déjà vu whenever he sees blonde hair, blue eyes, hears boisterous laughs, witty insults. And then as soon as Arthur rises again, everything makes sense. He feels ashamed for forgetting him, but it was actually Arthur who requested that the high priestesses (or gods, whoever idk) take his memory away so he didn’t have to live in pain. He knew Merlin would never try to forget, and he didn’t want his soulmate to suffer on his behalf. Merlin might be angry, but he knows Arthur just wanted to protect him while he was gone. He wanted Merlin to be happy and maybe he was. Who knows?
LOL anyway. I thought way too hard about this and I didn’t even really answer the question.

















