Chapter 12 – The Acceptance
The Weight of the Past
After the confrontation surrounding the Red Legion, Sam stood alone on the balcony late at night.
The city below was quiet. The sky was dark.
He lit a cigarette.
Smoke curled into the air as a single thought repeated in his mind.
No matter how deeply they dig, they will never find the leader of the Red Legion.
Because when I abandoned my past… I erased myself from history.
Names. Records. Memories.
Everything related to him had been wiped clean.
The identity of the Red Legion's leader existed now in only one place.
Inside Sam.
And it would remain there.
Forever.
His eyes darkened, filled with a loneliness so heavy it felt physical.
Then—
A vision flashed before him.
A battlefield soaked in blood.
Countless bodies scattered across broken land.
And in the center of it all stood Sam—holding a sword, eyes empty, face emotionless.
A demon drenched in bloodlust.
No mercy.
No hesitation.
No humanity.
Sam snapped back to reality.
His breath hitched.
Tears welled up and slipped down his cheeks before he could stop them.
He wiped them away roughly.
His expression went blank again.
He took another drag from the cigarette.
Just then—
"What is this, SAM?!"
Meera's voice cut through the night.
Sam turned slightly.
She was standing behind him, eyes locked onto the cigarette in his hand.
"You're smoking?!" she shouted. "Since when do you need cigarettes?!"
Before Sam could respond, Meera stepped forward, grabbed the cigarette from his mouth, and threw it off the balcony.
Without a word, Sam calmly took another cigarette from the pack and placed it between his lips, lighting it.
Before the flame even touched—
Meera snatched it again and tossed it away.
Sam reached into the box once more, completely expressionless.
This time, before he could even raise it—
Meera grabbed the entire cigarette pack and flung it over the balcony.
Silence.
Sam finally turned toward her, about to speak—
But Meera suddenly stepped closer.
Too close.
She pressed her nose gently against his.
Her breath trembled.
Her eyes slowly closed.
She leaned in—
As if she was about to kiss him.
Sam froze.
Then, abruptly, he stepped back.
Awkward.
Caught off guard.
Meera's eyes snapped open.
Now she was flustered too.
Her face turned red as she spoke rapidly, avoiding his gaze.
"Y-Your health is my responsibility, okay?! Don't forget that!"
With that, she turned and hurried away, embarrassed.
Sam stood there, watching her disappear.
He didn't understand why—
But his cheeks slowly turned red on their own.
Acceptance
From the very next day, something about Sam began to change.
He stopped suppressing his emotions.
He didn't force himself to be cold.
He didn't hide behind silence.
Without realizing it, he started behaving… normal.
Like a normal husband.
Like a normal father.
He helped Meera with daily chores.
He took responsibility without being asked.
And—most surprising of all—
He laughed.
With Ruhi, he no longer trained all the time.
He joked with her.
Carried her around.
Told her silly stories.
With Meera, he started doing small things.
Bringing flowers.
Cooking her favorite food.
Simple gestures.
But meaningful.
Meera noticed everything.
And it made her happy—truly happy.
One quiet night, she approached Sam and spoke softly.
"Sam… sometimes I feel like you never fully accepted me."
"I'm your wife… but I don't know if I ever found a place inside your heart."
Sam took her hand.
And for the first time—
He didn't hesitate.
"Meera…" he said gently.
"Thinking of you keeps me awake."
"Dreaming of you keeps me asleep."
"Being with you… keeps me alive."
He looked into her eyes.
"I spent my life drowning in darkness. You're the one who pulled me out."
"I accept you completely."
"I love you, Meera."
Her eyes filled with tears.
This was the first time Sam had confessed—not with restraint, not with silence—but with his heart laid bare.
Meera hugged him tightly, crying against his chest.
Sam wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead.
They stayed like that for a long time.
Peaceful.
A New Normal
Days passed.
Even Ruhi noticed the change.
Her father felt more alive.
Family dinners were filled with laughter.
Trips were full of teasing and warmth.
At night, the closeness between Sam and Meera felt natural—something that had been missing before.
Sam finally let go of a part of his past.
He chose his present.
Whatever happened before was my past, he thought.
No matter how many mistakes I made… now I must live here. In peace.
He was no longer just the God Slayer.
He was a husband.
A father.
And for him—
That was his real world.
Moonlit Night
The night was quiet.
Sam sat alone on the balcony, pale moonlight resting softly on his face. In his hand was a glass of wine, untouched. His gaze was distant—fixed on nothing, yet burdened by everything.
I am immortal…
The thought surfaced again, as it always did.
I don't even remember when I became immortal.
How many centuries have passed? How many worlds?
Time had lost its meaning to him.
For most of his endless life, he had lived without a reason to stay alive. Existence itself had been nothing more than endurance.
But now—
Now I have two reasons.
Meera.
Ruhi.
Happiness had come to him after an eternity of darkness, and he refused to let it slip away.
Meera is an elf, he thought.
She may live two… maybe three hundred years.
Ruhi is a spirit. Her lifespan will be long as well.
His grip on the glass tightened.
But time will still move forward.
And he would remain.
When they grow old… when they fade…
Will I survive watching my own family disappear right in front of my eyes?
The answer came instantly.
No.
He lowered his head, his jaw clenched.
I have killed enemies without hesitation.
I have destroyed worlds without regret.
But losing them…
That pain was something he had never learned how to endure.
The Decision
Sam stood up slowly.
The calm night air suddenly felt heavy.
"I can't allow that future," he said quietly.
"I have to do something."
His eyes hardened.
"I must make them immortal."
"No matter the price."
"Even if it means reopening the doors to my past."
The words felt like a vow.
A dangerous one.
But a necessary one.
The Secret Research
From that night onward, Sam disappeared into his private laboratory.
Night after night, he worked in silence.
Ancient seals lit up the walls. Runes glowed faintly beneath his feet. Scrolls older than recorded history lay open across massive tables.
He deciphered lost symbols.
Calculated forbidden equations.
Read tomes that even gods feared to touch.
Hours passed.
Then days.
At one point, Sam muttered under his breath:
"There are only two paths to immortality…"
The Curse of Eternity
"A forbidden method," he read.
A ritual that grants endless life by anchoring the body to time itself.
"But it consumes the soul."
Slowly.
Relentlessly.
Turning the bearer hollow.
Emotionless.
Cruel.
Evil.
Sam shut the book immediately.
"What use is a body without a soul?" he whispered.
"I will never curse my family like that."
That path was unacceptable.
The Blessing of the Everlight
His fingers trembled slightly as he turned the next page.
"A divine blessing."
"Not forced… but shared."
A ritual that grants immortality through a true bond of love and trust—by intertwining souls willingly.
Sam's eyes narrowed.
"This is it."
But the words that followed made his blood run cold.
Requirement: Rare blood of a primordial lineage.
Condition: The origin bloodline must be awakened.
Sam leaned back slowly.
"So that's the cost…"
The Risk
He knew exactly what awakening his bloodline meant.
If he broke the seal—
If his true lineage awakened—
The entire cosmos would feel it.
Enemies who believed him dead would awaken.
Old grudges would resurface.
Ancient beings would come hunting.
And worst of all—
His family would be exposed.
"They would come for Meera."
"For Ruhi."
His fists clenched.
"I can't risk that."
He paced the room, thoughts colliding violently.
There has to be another way.
A loophole.
A sacrifice that doesn't involve them.
The laboratory lights flickered.
The runes trembled slightly—as if reacting to his inner turmoil.
Sam stopped.
His eyes narrowed.
"…Or maybe," he whispered, "I don't yet understand my own immortality."
A Forgotten Truth
He stared at his reflection in a cracked mirror embedded in the wall.
"How did I become immortal?" he asked himself.
"I don't remember."
That alone terrified him.
Memories of wars.
Of blood.
Of power.
But the origin—
Blank.
Sealed.
Hidden.
By whom?
By himself?
Or by something far worse?
Sam exhaled slowly.
"If I can uncover my past…"
"If I understand what I truly am…"
"Then maybe I can protect them without dooming them."
The thought lingered.
Dangerous.
Inevitable.
A Silent Promise
Sam looked out through the lab's observation window, toward the villa above—where Meera and Ruhi slept peacefully.
"I won't let fate decide this," he whispered.
"I won't let time steal them from me."
"No gods."
"No prophecies."
"No past."
"I'll find a way."
He turned back toward the ancient texts, eyes burning with resolve.
Whatever storm awakening his truth might bring—
He would face it.
Because for the first time in eternity…
Sam had something worth protecting.
Author's Tease
What is the Curse of Eternity?
What truly is the Blessing of the Everlight?
How did Sam become immortal… and what bloodline sleeps within him?
To uncover the truth behind Sam's past, the origin of his immortality, and the price of eternal love—
Follow The Crown and Ash