The days following the battle had been a blur for Sam. The exhaustion from the fight, coupled with his injuries, had left him bedridden for a few days. But as soon as he was able, he started moving around the palace, trying to piece together what had happened, both in the battle and within himself. The memories of that dark power were vague and unsettling, but he pushed them aside, focusing on the present.
During his recovery, Sam noticed an odd tension among the royal family. The queen and Sara, while outwardly calm, were unusually distant. They seemed to be watching him, waiting for something. Masha, always bubbly, was more subdued than usual, and even the palace staff seemed on edge. It was as if everyone knew something that Sam didn't.
One evening, after a day spent restlessly wandering the palace grounds, Sam returned to his room to find a letter slipped under his door. The parchment was plain, but it carried an air of urgency. Sam opened it carefully, his heart pounding as he read the message inside:
"I know you're the Ghost. If you don't want me to reveal your secret, meet me at the old oak tree in the palace gardens tonight. Come alone."
Sam's blood ran cold. The Ghost—his secret identity that had become a whispered legend among the students—was known only to a select few, and he had made sure to cover his tracks carefully. How could someone have found out so soon?
His first instinct was to ignore it, suspecting a trap, but something about the handwriting felt familiar, tugging at the edges of his memory. Deciding he couldn't ignore the letter, Sam prepared himself and quietly made his way to the gardens.
The old oak tree stood tall in the center of the garden, its branches stretching wide and casting deep shadows in the moonlight. Sam approached cautiously, his senses on high alert. As he neared the tree, a figure stepped out from the shadows.
Sam's breath caught as the figure pulled back their hood, revealing a face he hadn't seen in years but would recognize anywhere.
"Emily…?" His voice was barely a whisper, a mix of disbelief and shock. His mind raced. What was his sister doing here? How had she found him?
Emily smiled faintly, her eyes searching his. "Hello, Ryan… or should I call you Sam now?"
Sam froze, his heart skipping a beat. "Ryan?" The name hit him like a physical blow. It was a name he hadn't heard in a long time—a name that didn't belong to this life. It was from a life before, a life he had almost forgotten. "How… how do you know that name?"
Emily's expression softened, a mixture of sorrow and determination in her eyes. "I know everything, Ryan. About your past, about who you really are, and about the power inside you."
Sam's mind was spinning. This was too much, too fast. "Emily, what's going on? Why are you here? How do you know about… all of this?"
Emily stepped closer, lowering her voice. "There's a lot you don't know, Ryan—Sam. Things I've wanted to tell you for so long, but I couldn't. Not until now."
Sam felt a wave of emotions—confusion, fear, hope—all crashing over him at once. "Tell me, then. What's going on? What do you need from me?"
Emily glanced around, making sure they were truly alone before she spoke. "There's a tournament coming up—a competition between all the schools in the kingdom. You need to win it. If you do, I'll tell you everything—about our family, about your power, and about why you were reincarnated into this world."
Sam stared at her, the shock of her words still sinking in. "A tournament? How is that connected to everything?"
Emily's eyes were intense, pleading with him to understand. "The people behind it… they're the same ones who want to use your power for their own purposes. Winning the tournament will give you the chance to confront them, to find out the truth about your past, and to understand why you were given these powers."
Sam took a step back, his mind reeling. "And what happens if I don't win? What then?"
Emily's face darkened. "Then everything we've fought for, everything our family has sacrificed… it will all be for nothing. The truth will be buried, and you'll never know who you really are."
The gravity of the situation hit Sam hard. His life, his identity, everything he had believed about himself—was it all connected to this mysterious past he couldn't remember? And now his sister was here, asking him to trust her, to compete in a tournament that held the keys to his past and his future.
"Why now, Emily?" Sam's voice was filled with a mixture of desperation and confusion. "Why are you telling me this now?"
"Because you're ready," Emily replied softly. "I've been watching you, waiting for the right moment. And now that moment has come. You're stronger than you know, Sam. But to truly understand your power, to control it, you need to face this challenge."
Sam hesitated, the weight of her words pressing down on him. "Alright, I'll do it. But you have to promise me something, Emily."
"Anything," she said, her eyes filled with hope.
"When this is over, when I win… you'll tell me everything. No more secrets."
Emily smiled, a glimmer of the sister he remembered shining through. "I promise, Ryan. No more secrets."
As they parted ways, Sam felt a new resolve burning within him. The tournament would be his chance to uncover the truth, to finally understand who he was and what he was meant to do. But more importantly, it would be his chance to protect those he cared about and to confront the shadows of his past.
But as he walked back to the palace, the weight of his sister's words pressed heavily on him. He knew that the path ahead would be fraught with danger, that the enemies he would face were unlike any he had encountered before.
Yet, deep down, Sam felt a glimmer of hope. For the first time in a long time, he wasn't alone. He had allies, he had a purpose, and he had a promise to keep.
The journey ahead would be difficult, but Sam was ready to face it head-on, no matter the cost.