Rachel turned to look at her brother’s room one last time before heading toward the living room, where her parents were waiting.
She had deliberately kept her answers vague when speaking to Eric.
If he had known the true gravity of the situation, he would never have remained as passive as he had.
And that was exactly what she wanted to avoid.
“Please, can you wait for me outside?” Rachel asked, stopping in front of her parents.
Her mother looked visibly distressed.
She kept glancing at Rachel as though she wanted to say something but couldn’t find the courage.
Her father, however, showed no such concern.
He didn’t even look worried about the son he was about to abandon.
“We don’t have time for your games, Rachel.
I already allowed you to speak with your brother.
Now you’re asking us to leave you alone?” His expression hardened.
“You’re pushing your luck.” Before he could refuse outright, his wife intervened.
She let out a quiet sigh.
“Give her five minutes, will you?” Her husband glared at her but eventually turned away.
He stormed outside, the message in his footsteps clear enough.
Don’t try anything funny.
Rachel simply shook her head before following her mother outside.
She wasn’t surprised by his behavior.
Her father had always been like this.
To him, his children were not really children.
They were assets.
Something to be traded, discarded, or used whenever it benefited the family.
Rachel waited until her parents were outside before quickly returning to her room.
She retrieved a particular book from where she had hidden it.
It was a gift from her grandfather before his death.
He had never explained what it was or why he had chosen to give it to her.
Before placing it in her hands, he had only spoken a few strange words.
“Hail Zoran, ruler of storms and life.” At the time, Rachel had wondered why he hadn’t given the book to her father instead.
Now, she understood.
If her father had known its value, he probably would have sold it without a second thought.
Rachel hurried to the dining room and placed the book on the table.
Then she pulled out a piece of paper, sat down, and began writing.
Her hand trembled slightly as the words formed on the page.
When she finished, she stared at the letter for several seconds.
There was so much more she wanted to say.
But there was no time.
Rachel folded the letter and placed it beside the book.
Then she stood and walked outside.
A familiar carriage was already waiting for her.
She took one last glance at the house.
Then she stepped inside.
Eric couldn’t fall asleep that night.
His mind refused to quiet down.
His sister’s words kept replaying in his head, each time raising more questions than the last.
The more he thought about them, the heavier the knot in his chest became.
“Damn, this is so frustrating.” He rolled onto his side.
“How does she expect me to sleep after telling me all that stuff?” He turned over again.
His bed, usually smooth and comfortable, somehow felt like a pile of rocks.
Then another thought surfaced.
“What’s with forgiving Mum and Dad for what they were going to do?” His brows furrowed.
His father was a terrible man.
Eric had known that for years.
He had long since learned to endure his father’s indifference and cruelty.
But his sister’s words were different.
Forgive them.
Why would she tell him that?
What exactly were his parents planning to do?
And why had she sounded like she was saying goodbye?
Eric stared at the ceiling.
Something was wrong.
He could feel it.
After tossing and turning for nearly an hour, exhaustion finally overcame him.
His eyes slowly closed, and he fell into an uneasy sleep.
The next morning, bright rays of sunlight slipped through the window and fell across Eric’s face.
He groaned before sitting up and stretching.
For a brief moment, his mind was empty.
Then the memories of the previous night came rushing back.
His sister.
Her strange words.
The way she had spoken.
Eric’s expression immediately darkened.
Normally, he would have sat back down and lost himself in thoughts about the awakened before heading to the market.
Not today.
He needed answers.
He decided to confront Rachel directly about what she had said.
Their house wasn’t large, so it took him only a minute or two to reach her room.
He stopped outside the door.
For some reason, his heart was pounding.
Eric raised his hand and knocked three times.
He waited.
Nothing.
He knocked again.
Three more times.
Still nothing.
His uneasiness grew.
He considered barging in but immediately stopped himself.
That wasn’t appropriate.
“Rachel?” Silence.
“Rachel?” Still nothing.
A cold feeling crept into his chest.
Something is wrong.
“Fuck being appropriate.” Eric pushed the door open.
The room was empty.
His heart sank.
He searched the house, checking every room he could think of.
Nothing.
Finally, he reached the dining room.
That’s when he saw it.
A book.
And beside it, a single piece of paper.
Eric froze.
He slowly picked up the letter.
His eyes moved across the first line.
Dear Eric, His fingers tightened around the paper.
If you are reading this letter, you should already know that I’m gone.
Eric stared at the sentence.
Gone?
“What does she mean, she’s gone?” His voice came out barely above a whisper.
His mind began to race.
He read the sentence again.
And again.
Tears gathered in his eyes before he even realized he was crying.
Something was wrong with his family.
He had always known that.
But he had never imagined it was this serious.
Still, he refused to jump to conclusions.
With trembling hands, he continued reading.
When you were little, Grandpa used to tell me stories about an ancient and powerful clan called the Heaven Devouring Storm.
Protected by their god, they once stood at the pinnacle of the realms.
Their dragonic forms soared through the clouds, bringing ruin upon their enemies.
They were powerful—terrifyingly so—but they were not unrivaled.
Even among the strongest clans, they were feared for their strength and ruthlessness.
But everything came to an end when two clans of equal power joined forces against them.
The Heaven Devouring Storm fought a losing battle for centuries.
Yet they never surrendered to despair.
They continued fighting until the conflict eventually reached the divine realms.
Grandpa never knew what happened during the battle between the gods.
He only knew one thing.
Their god died.
Afterward, other gods attempted to seize what remained of his legacy, but enemy deities intervened and suppressed them.
The members of the Heaven Devouring Storm were hunted down.
One after another.
Entire families were slaughtered.
Their bloodline was erased from the realms.
At least, that was what everyone believed.
Eric’s breathing grew heavier.
His eyes remained fixed on the letter.
You might be wondering why I’m telling you this fairy tale after leaving you behind.
But you need to understand something, Eric.
This isn’t a fairy tale.
It’s as real as it can be.
We are descendants of that ancient bloodline.
Some of the few who remain.
Most of our people abandoned their inheritance and concealed their identities simply to survive.
I would have preferred to keep this secret from you.
But I couldn’t bring myself to leave you behind without telling you the truth.
No matter where you go, no matter what happens to you, always remember one thing.
I love you.
And I always will.
Eric’s vision blurred.
He lowered the letter slightly.
By then, tears were already streaming down his cheeks.
He didn’t know what to feel.
Anger?
Sadness?
Betrayal?
His sister had left him behind.
But she wasn’t dead.
That was what made it worse.
He couldn’t even mourn her properly.
She had chosen to leave him behind because she believed it was necessary.
Eric stood there silently for several moments, trying to make sense of everything.
Eventually, he wiped the tears from his face.
His expression hardened.
Whatever his family had been hiding from him, he would uncover it.
His gaze shifted toward the book lying beside the letter.
Slowly, he reached down and picked it up.
The cover was old, yet strangely well preserved.
His fingers brushed across the engraved words.
He read them aloud.
“Bloodline of the Lightning God.” Eric froze.
For several seconds, he simply stared at the title.
Then his eyes narrowed.
“Lightning God…?” Something deep within him seemed to stir.
He didn’t know why.
But for the first time in his life, Eric felt as though the strange path that had always seemed to lie beyond his reach had finally begun to reveal itself.