Chapter 287: 287. Samantha – 1

Tamasya stood with her back resting against the cold stone wall outside Anne’s cellar, her vision slightly hazy as her thoughts drifted between the past and the present, and although the chaos inside the prison had settled, the silence that remained now felt unusually heavy.

The soundproof barrier that William had erected around the cellar shimmered faintly under the glow of the lava, completely isolating every sound within it, including the cries that had once echoed through the cavern.

It had already been several hours since he had learned the truth about his origin, a truth so profound that it had the power to change him forever, and although she wished that change would lead him toward something better, a part of her feared that it might take him somewhere darker.

She lowered her gaze toward the ground and remained still, because she understood without needing to ask why he had chosen to isolate himself like this. He was not someone who could openly cry or release his emotions in front of her, and the burden he carried was different in both weight and nature, shaped by layers of tragedy that had built over time.

Despite everything, there was still a quiet sense of relief in her heart, because William had finally found his mother, and Anastasia had found her son, and such a reunion, no matter how painful or complicated, was something that fate rarely granted to anyone.

Yet alongside that relief came a deeper realization that was far more difficult to accept, because the chaos involving gods, the church, the demons, and countless other complex forces that she had always tried to keep William away from had, in the end, turned out to be the very center of his destiny.

And whether she liked it or not, he was bound to it by fate and blood in a way that could neither be denied nor avoided.

She slowly lifted her head and looked toward the bubbling river of lava that illuminated the cavern with an unsteady glow, and as she watched the molten surface rise and fall, she could not help but think about William’s connection to both the Solaris clan and the Luneria clan, two lineages that represented the opposing yet complementary forces of the sun and the moon.

Born from the union of these two celestial concepts, William was not simple in any sense.

She had struggled in the past to find a logical explanation for the strange and overwhelming abilities he possessed, but now the truth was slowly becoming something she could accept without resistance, even if it still felt overwhelming.

The lava pit beneath suddenly bubbled more violently, and a brief flare of fire erupted from its surface, snapping her out of her thoughts as she instinctively turned her head toward the approaching figure.

Maris stepped forward and respectfully lowered herself onto one knee before Tamasya.

“My lady, nineteen individuals have shown signs of improvement, four were already dead when we reached them, and one remains in critical condition with unstable vitals,” Maris reported in a steady but serious tone.

“Take me there immediately,” Tamasya replied without hesitation, pushing aside her lingering thoughts as she shifted her focus toward the present, and Maris quickly rose to her feet and guided her toward a cellar located at the far corner of the cavern.

As soon as Tamasya stepped inside, the sight before her caused her expression to harden, because a woman with blue hair and blue eyes sat on the ground holding a young man tightly in her arms, her body shaking as she cried uncontrollably while clutching him as if refusing to let him slip away.

The young man’s breathing was shallow and unstable, as if his life was hanging by a fragile thread that could break at any moment.

“Samantha,” Tamasya said, her voice carrying unease as she looked at the woman whose grief was far too deep to be contained.

Samantha slowly turned her head toward Tamasya, her eyes filled with exhaustion and bitterness, and instead of showing relief, she scoffed quietly, her reaction revealing that whatever she had endured had stripped away any expectation of comfort.

Maris stepped slightly forward from behind Tamasya and spoke.

“They are among the most recent prisoners brought into this prison, and it appears that the church has intensified its efforts to capture individuals connected to the Solaris and Luneria bloodlines, regardless of whether they are part of the power structure of the Solaris Empire or not.”

She continued with a carefull tone.

“Miss Samantha and her son were captured four years ago in Riverdale’s Opera Town, where they had been living in secrecy until they were discovered by cult members who initially intended to sell them as slaves, but when Miss Samantha revealed her lineage in desperation to buy time, they were instead handed over to the church by the Kaziraik cult.”

As Maris finished speaking, the sound of footsteps echoed behind them, drawing both her and Tamasya’s attention as they noticed Samantha’s gaze shift toward the approaching figures with a sudden change in expression.

They turned around and saw William and Anastasia entering the room together, both of them silent, their expressions cold in a way that Tamasya had never witnessed before.

Tamasya studied them carefully, and what she saw unsettled her deeply.

Both of them had changed.

The change was not superficial, but something deeper that affected the way they walked, the way they stood, and the way they carried themselves, and the most disturbing part was that they seemed almost identical in their composure, as if a single soul was reflected in both of them.

Together, they did not feel different.

Tamasya felt as if she was looking at the same kind of presence, and although she knew they were mother and son, the way they carried themselves she felt as if she was looking at two beasts, one mother beast and her youngling who behaved and looked similar.

“Willi…” Tamasya began to speak, but her voice was abruptly cut off.

“You witch!” Samantha suddenly screamed as she looked at Anastasia, her voice breaking under the weight of her anger as she gently brushed her son’s hair with trembling hands before rising to her feet with a fury that had been waiting to erupt.

“How dare you bring ruin upon the entire bloodline, and how dare you stand here in front of me after all this!!” Samantha shouted, her voice echoed through the chamber as she stepped closer, her grief and anger rising with every second.

“You destroyed everything, you destroyed the whole clan!” she screamed, her right hand raised and she swung it forward with all the strength she could muster.

The slap landed with force, but not on the person it was meant for.

Instead of striking Anastasia, her hand struck William, who had stepped in between them, leaving the imprint of her fingers across his face.

Tamasya and Maris both gasped in shock, unable to process what had just happened, while Anastasia remained unnaturally quiet.

As the echo of the slap faded, Samantha’s anger collapsed under its own weight, and her strength left her body as she fell to the ground before them, her hands barely supporting her as her tears streamed down and fell onto the stone floor, reflecting the glow of the lava.

“You got your son back, but what about me, and what about my child who is slipping away right in front of me, why always i have to compromise!! why do you always take everything away from me!!” Samantha wailed in desperation and fear.

“Sister…” Anastasia murmured softly.

“Do not call me that, because sisters don’t destroy each other’s lives,” Samantha shouted through her tears, cutting her off, her pain too great to allow even that word.

William stepped past Samantha with his unchanged, distant expression.

Tamasya noticed the shift in him immediately, because the man standing before her now felt completely different from the one she had known just hours ago.

She could not understand how someone could change so much in such a short time, and the thought of what had happened with him and Anne unsetteled her.

Had they both entered depression together??, had they lost the will to speak??

She turned her gaze toward Anastasia, and the sight of her only deepened that unease, because she had never seen her so devoid of emotion, so completely still, as if every tear had already been shed and nothing remained.

Tamasya had expected grief, sorrow, and perhaps even anger, especially considering that Samantha was Anastasia’s twin, and their relationship had always been shaped by rivalry and a shared fate that had never been kind to either of them.

Their mother had been cursed by the goddess of protection and healing, Xythia, and although Tamasya could not recall the exact phrasing of that curse, she now understood its meaning with painful clarity.

Samantha had been a powerful cultivator, even surpassing Klaus the Sword Saint, yet despite her strength, she had been unable to protect her family when it mattered most.

For years, it had been believed that only one of the twins had inherited the curse, and because Anastasia possessed greater talent and affinity, many assumed that Samantha had been the one burdened by it.

But now it was clear that both of them had been cursed.

Anastasia had lost her ability to use her power at the most critical moment of her life when she needed it to save her son, and Samantha had been left powerless when her strength was needed the most, forced to watch her family perish before her eyes.

“Sister the elders were wrong, it’s not just you, it seems that we are both cursed,” Anastasia finally completed her words with an empty voice.

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