The battle had barely ended, but the silence that followed felt worse than the roar of the creature. Sam stood amidst the ruins, his body bruised and his breath shallow, yet the real weight on him was not from the battle. It was the lingering echo of the creature's words.
"You cannot escape the Abyss. It will consume you all."
The remnants of its presence clung to the air, twisting the very reality around them. The fissure it had come from was still open, pulsing with a dark, malignant energy. Sam felt the pull in his chest again, but this time, it wasn't just the Abyss. It was something deeper, something older.
Something personal.
"Sam," Valencia's voice broke through his thoughts, a firm hand resting on his shoulder. She had been silent during the battle, her usual calculated demeanor fading into something almost vulnerable. "We need to regroup."
He nodded, not trusting himself to speak. They had won the battle, but the cost of it felt like too much. His heart still hammered in his chest, and the whispers from the Abyss didn't stop. Instead, they intensified, demanding attention from the deepest parts of his mind.
"I don't think we can keep going like this," Rael muttered, stepping up beside them. His face was grim, the usual smirk gone. "That thing wasn't just a Rift Beast. It was the Rift itself, and it's only going to get worse."
"Agreed," Valencia said, her voice cold but sharp. "We need answers, and not from this Rift. There's only one place we can go."
Sam turned to her, his brows furrowing. "You're not suggesting—"
"Your family," Valencia interrupted. "They're the key. The roots of your Vein, the bloodline. You've been running from it for too long."
For a moment, Sam felt like the ground had shifted beneath him. His family. His past.
A part of him had been hoping that the Rift, the summons, everything else, could be the distractions he needed. But Valencia was right. There were things he couldn't ignore anymore.
"I'll go," Sam said, his voice tight. "But I won't be doing it alone."
Rael clapped him on the back. "Of course not, kid. We've got your back."
But the decision was made. As they moved to leave the twisted, fractured Rift, the weight of Sam's past began to settle more heavily on his shoulders. His family—his true legacy—was buried somewhere in the old district of New Intramuros. His roots. His bloodline.
But what he didn't expect was what awaited him.
The district they arrived in was a far cry from the gleaming towers of New Intramuros. This place was a relic, crumbling under the weight of forgotten time. The streets were lined with shattered buildings, their windows long since broken, and the air smelled of dust and decay. But it was home.
Sam's feet dragged as he walked, his thoughts heavy with every step. Each alley felt like it held a memory, each corner a reminder of a life he had left behind. His mind flickered to his mother—the reason he had left in the first place. She had always told him to run, to keep his distance from their family's history. From the bloodline that had carried the power of the ancients.
But now, standing at the edge of this decaying neighborhood, the weight of his heritage pressed down on him like a stone.
"Are you sure about this?" Rael asked, his voice quieter than usual. "I mean, if your family has been hiding this long…"
Sam didn't look at him. He didn't need to. The truth was, he didn't know if he was ready for whatever lay ahead. But the Abyss wouldn't wait. The Rift wouldn't wait. And neither could he.
"I don't have a choice," Sam said, voice raw with resolve. "Whatever this is… it's part of me. And I need to understand it."
They stopped in front of a dilapidated building, one that barely looked like it had survived the last decade. The sign above the door was faded, barely readable, but Sam could still make out the words:
"Casa de la Resonancia"
His heart skipped a beat.
The House of Resonance.
The place where his family had been hidden away for generations. The place where the history of his bloodline had been preserved in secret. And now, he had to step inside.
But as they crossed the threshold, something stirred. A presence, familiar yet unsettling. The air seemed to grow colder, heavier, and the walls themselves seemed to watch them, their silence oppressive.
"Welcome, Sam," a voice said from the shadows. "I've been waiting for you."
From the darkness stepped a figure—a woman whose features were sharp and familiar. She was older than he remembered, but the resemblance was undeniable. His mother.
Her eyes, though, were different. Hardened. Unforgiving.
"You've come to claim your legacy," she said, her voice cold. "But are you truly ready for the truth?"
Sam didn't respond right away. His heart raced, but something deep inside him knew that the time had come to face what he had been running from. Whatever the truth was, it had been waiting for him all this time.
And now, he would learn it.