The moon hung high over Amberheart, casting a cool silver glow across the quiet streets as Silas, Rowan, Layla, Regina, and the others left the auction hall. The thrill of the evening's events still buzzed in the air, lifting their spirits despite the late hour. Silas walked alongside Rowan and Layla, their conversation light and filled with laughter.

“That was quite a show back there,” Layla said, and then nudging Rowan, she asked, “How does the new armour feel?”

Rowan chuckled. “It feels like it’s been custom made for me. I do feel a lot more confident after wearing it.”

Silas smiled but stayed quiet, his thoughts elsewhere. His eyes flickered to Regina, who walked ahead with Kie and Bai Lanhua, flanked by her three Soulweaver protectors. As they reached the fork in the road, the group began to part ways. Rowan and Layla exchanged goodbyes with everyone and headed toward Rowan's home. Layla tossed Silas a playful wave as she disappeared into the night.

Kie, Bai Lanhua, and Regina's guards also prepared to leave, but Silas hesitated. His heart pounded as he gathered his courage, finally calling out to Regina.

"Regina, wait."

She turned slowly, her gaze calm and unreadable as it met his. Silas swallowed the knot in his throat, feeling the weight of what he wanted to say press against his chest.

"When will I see you again?" he asked, his voice quieter than intended.

Silas swallowed, the weight of his words hanging in the air. He knew Regina was different—her world was nothing like his. And yet, standing under the moonlight, he couldn't shake the pull between them, like invisible threads tying his fate to hers.

Regina sighed softly and shook her head, the motion graceful but final. "I’m afraid we'll be leaving Amberheart soon."

Silas blinked, his heart sinking. "Leaving?"

"Our business here is done," Regina explained. "My goal was to acquire the deed for the Selénolithos ore mine. Kie was tasked with healing Leifstein Remington of his ailment. She has done what she can and prescribed the medication he must use for the coming year. With that, our work is finished."

Silas's chest tightened at her words, and his expression faltered. Regina saw the deflation in his eyes and sighed again, her voice more sombre.

"As unkind as my next words may be," she began, "they will spare me your resentment in the future. And, hopefully, they will spare you the agony of being with someone like me."

Silas frowned, but Regina continued, her voice gentle but firm. "We live in completely different worlds, Silas. Our fates are not entwined, and for you, that is a blessing. You don't understand it now, but in time you will."

Silas sighed deeply, his heart heavy, but he wasn't ready to give up just yet. He met her gaze, his voice steady despite the weight of his words.

"I know our worlds are different," he said quietly. "That much was clear from the moment we stepped into that auction. But… the river of time is long. There might come a day when I forget about you—if I fall in love with someone else. But…”

He paused, taking a deep breath. “But maybe I won’t. Maybe, even when I’m old and dying, I’ll still be thinking about you in my final moments. The future is full of possibilities, and among these possibilities, if our paths do entwine someday, I won’t back down this easily.”

He stepped forward, closing the space between them. Regina's guards immediately tensed, the three Soulweavers drawing their weapons in warning. But Silas ignored them, reaching out to caress Regina's cheek with a boldness that surprised even him.

"Silas…" Regina started, her frown deepening, but Silas chuckled softly.

"At least," he murmured, "our worlds aren't so far apart that I can't even touch you."

The Soulweavers' tension thickened, but Regina didn't move. Her eyes searched his, unreadable.

"You can't even begin to fathom my world," Regina said quietly. "You can't even imagine how old I am."

Silas's smile widened, a reckless edge to his voice. "If you're as old as you claim, then you should be able to see it in my eyes right now—I don't care about worldly conventions. And even more than that, you should see my resolve."

For a long moment, Regina stared at him, her expression unreadable. Then, with a soft sigh, she stepped back, withdrawing from his touch. Without another word, she turned and began walking away.

Kie and Bai Lanhua, who had watched the exchange silently, approached Silas. Kie gave him a sympathetic smile, patting his shoulder lightly. "You've got guts, Silas," she said, her eyes warm with understanding.

Then, more seriously, she added, "Regina means well, in her own way. Don't take her words to heart."

Silas nodded his gaze still on Regina's retreating figure. "I know," he said softly. The moonlight caught the edges of Regina’s silhouette, making her appear almost ethereal, unreachable.

With that, Kie and the others left, disappearing into the night as well. Silas stood there for a moment longer, alone under the moonlit sky. He sighed, his emotions a tangled mess in his chest, but he couldn't help the small, wistful smile that tugged at his lips.

He turned toward the direction of the Lonestar Manor, his footsteps slow but resolute. The night was quiet around him, the soft breeze carrying the distant echoes of laughter from the city. Even though she was leaving, and even though their worlds were so far apart, Silas couldn't help but feel that, somehow, their paths might cross again.

And when that day came, their worlds would be closer.

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The Royal Palace stood tall in the night, its grand towers casting long shadows under the moonlit sky. Regina, Kie, and Bai Lanhua approached in silence, the soft clink of their footsteps echoing through the palace courtyard. The guards at the entrance, familiar with their presence, bowed and made way for them to pass without question.

Once inside, the three women made their way to Regina’s chambers. The guards who had accompanied them broke off toward their own lodgings. The moment the heavy doors to Regina’s room closed, the silence deepened, leaving only Regina, Kie, and Bai Lanhua.

Kie gave a small nod to Bai Lanhua. “Lan’er, leave us for a bit. We need to talk.”

Bai Lanhua hesitated briefly, her eyes flickering between the two, but eventually, she bowed her head and exited the room, leaving Regina and Kie alone.

Once the door clicked shut, Kie wasted no time. “So, what’s your judgement?”

Regina remained still, her back to Kie, her eyes gazing out the window at the shimmering city below. After a long pause, she spoke quietly, her voice laden with contemplation. “All three of them, including Silas, have Nexus Ambrosia flowing in their veins.”

Kie’s eyebrows lifted slightly but remained quiet, watching Regina’s expression closely.

Regina’s fingers traced the windowsill as she continued, murmuring a prophecy as if recalling something from the distant past. “And they will be brought together by blood and fate.”

Kie sighed, her posture loosening at Regina’s response. “I was afraid you’d say that.”

Regina finally turned to face Kie, her features calm but reflective. “Their bloodline is faint,” she said. “Perhaps because it’s been dormant for so long. They’ve never used anything beyond a Soulweaver’s abilities, and I’m not even sure if they can. But it’s there.”

Kie crossed her arms, her mind already turning over the possibilities. “If even one of them, besides Silas, can use it, then the others might be able to as well. The generations wouldn’t be that far apart. Though… Silas is different. His bloodline is purer, isn’t it?”

Regina nodded. “He’ll be a cut above the rest.”

Kie narrowed her gaze, her voice softening with concern. “And… why were you so harsh with Silas tonight? Do you resent him? You told him your fates weren’t entwined, but that was a lie. The blood that flows through him binds him to you as much as it binds you to him.”

Regina’s expression shifted, a shadow of sadness passing over her usually composed face. She closed her eyes briefly as though steadying herself for what she was about to say. "It's better for him to stay away," she murmured, her gaze distant. "He doesn’t deserve what I bring… no one does."

Kie furrowed her brow. “That doesn’t make any sense, Regina. If you care about him—”

“I’m a seed of calamity,” Regina cut in, her voice firm but laced with pain. “Everything I touch is bound to have a fate worse than death. It’s better for him—better for all of them—if they stay far away from me.”

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

She turned to face Kie fully now, her eyes heavy with the weight of unspoken history. “You and Bai Lanhua should also serve a different lord. Someone worthy of your loyalty. Not someone like me—someone the entire world has cast away and shunned, simply for existing.”

Kie’s face softened, her voice taking on a more tender tone. “Regina…”

Regina’s lips curled into a sad, bitter smile. “If not for the wisp of ‘her’ soul inside me, I would have been killed long ago.”

Kie stepped forward and, to Regina’s surprise, wrapped her arms around her in a firm embrace. Regina stiffened, unused to the touch, but Kie held her close.

“Listen to me,” Kie said quietly. You might say that you’re older than me, but you know your own circumstances. You’re just a little girl. My words come from my own experience. No one in this world deserves a life of loneliness, even less a lonely death.”

Regina remained silent, her eyes cast downward, her body still rigid in Kie’s hold.

Kie continued, her voice gentle but resolute. “Walking this path alone, carrying a burden as heavy as yours, no one can do it… it’ll crush you one day, Regina. I’ve watched you shut everyone out for years," Kie said softly. "But this path… it’s too lonely for anyone, even you. You don’t have to do it alone."

For a moment, Regina didn’t respond. Her eyes closed as she stood there, letting Kie’s words sink into the walls she had built around her heart. After a long pause, she finally spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I need to rest,” she said, her tone distant. “You should leave me.”

Kie pulled back, watching Regina’s face for any sign of emotion, but the mask had returned. With a soft nod, Kie stepped away.

“Alright,” Kie said softly. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

She left the room quietly, leaving Regina alone for the night. Heavy and thick silence returned as Regina moved slowly to her balcony. She stepped out into the cool night air, the breeze brushing against her skin as she gazed up at the sky.

Tears gathered in her eyes, falling silently down her cheeks as she murmured to the stars. “Can you see my memories through the barrier, my greater half? Perhaps you can, given how strong you are...”

Her hand rose to her cheek, where Silas had touched her just hours before, and she lingered on the warmth that still seemed to remain there. Her voice trembled as she spoke again, this time to someone who wasn’t there.

“What choice would you have made? You are adored and cherished by the world, so perhaps you would have looked down on him, just as you look down on me, from your pedestal.”

She lowered herself to the floor of the balcony, hugging her knees to her chest as her tears continued to fall, silent but unrelenting. The weight of her fate, her cursed existence, pressed down on her like a suffocating shroud. The loneliness and isolation had been her constant companions for as long as she could remember.

And now, with the memory of Silas’s touch still fresh on her skin, that loneliness felt sharper than ever.

She wept softly, her shoulders shaking as she clung to the one truth she could never escape: that she was a harbinger of calamity, destined to be alone, no matter how much her heart longed for something different.

The meeting between Silas and Regina was an encounter brought together by fate. Fate guided them, yes. But what drew them together was not love—it was something far more elusive, as is the case for most people when they first meet. For Silas, it was the allure of an unattainable dream, a desire to grasp something beyond his reach. For Regina, it was the recognition she craved as a living being. And perhaps the deep need for validation and adoration that her heart desired from the world. Indeed, It wasn't love but the meeting of two souls, each searching for what the other unconsciously promised.

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Days had passed since the auction, and the time for Regina and her entourage to leave Amberheart had come. The carriages rolled down the cobbled streets, the city slowly fading into the distance as they made their way toward the horizon. Inside the main carriage, Regina sat quietly, her head resting against the window. Her eyes lingered on the view outside, specifically toward the west of the city, where the silhouette of the Lonestar Manor was barely visible in the early morning light. She sighed softly and closed her eyes, sinking into the silence.

Opposite her, Bai Lanhua sat quietly, her delicate hands folded in her lap. Beside her, Kie kept her gaze forward, but now and then, she glanced at Regina’s tired expression. The weight of their departure hung in the air, unspoken but palpable.

As the carriage continued to roll along, Bai Lanhua broke the silence. “Lady… can we stop for a bit?”

Regina blinked, her eyes opening in confusion. “Stop? Why?”

Bai Lanhua hesitated, her gaze drifting toward the window. “I saw someone outside. I just… I want to help.”

Regina frowned but nodded, signalling to the carriage driver. “Stop the carriage.”

With a slight jolt, the carriage came to a halt. Bai Lanhua quickly stepped out, disappearing from view for a moment. Regina craned her neck to see where she had gone and noticed Bai Lanhua approaching a blind man sitting by the side of the road, begging. She watched as Bai Lanhua knelt down, gently placing some coins into the man’s hands. The man bowed his head in gratitude, murmuring thanks as Bai Lanhua smiled warmly at him.

Regina watched as Bai Lanhua offered kindness with such ease, something Regina herself had forgotten how to give. She clenched her fists, feeling the weight of the words she had left behind for Silas in Amberheart. 'It's better this way. Hate me if you want', she thought.

She sighed, leaning back in her seat. Kie, who had been watching silently, gave a soft, sad smile.

“She still can’t let go,” Kie said quietly, her voice laced with empathy. “And neither can I.”

Regina said nothing, but her gaze softened, a glimmer of understanding in her eyes.

Just as Bai Lanhua returned to the carriage and settled into her seat, something caught her attention on the street ahead. A distant voice—faint at first, then growing louder. Shouting. It was Rowan and Layla. They had spotted the carriages; at first, they paid no mind. But when their eyes caught Bai Lanhua stepping out, they recognized her. They immediately began running, calling out toward the carriages.

“Wait! Hold on!” Rowan’s voice rang out, the urgency clear.

Layla was right behind him, waving her hands. “Don’t leave yet!”

Inside the carriage, Regina tensed. She could hear the shouts, her fists clenched in her lap as Kie and Bai Lanhua exchanged glances. The horses slowed, sensing the commotion behind them.

“Lady?” the driver called, waiting for instructions.

Regina closed her eyes, her jaw tightening. After a brief silence, she spoke, her voice steady but firm. “Don’t stop. Keep going.”

The driver hesitated for only a second before obeying. With a flick of the reins, the horses picked up their pace again, and the carriages moved forward, leaving Rowan and Layla’s voices fading behind them.

Regina kept her eyes closed, her fists still clenched. Kie’s sad smile returned, but she didn’t say a word. Bai Lanhua lowered her head, a faint sigh escaping her lips as they continued their journey away from Amberheart.

When Bai Lanhua finally spoke again, her voice was soft. “Last night… I dreamed about my big brother,” she said quietly. “I have this feeling he’s still alive somewhere, and that he’s happy.”

Kie smiled warmly and reached over to pat Bai Lanhua’s head. “I believe that too, Lan’er. He’s watching over you.”

With that, the conversation quieted again, and the carriage resumed its journey, leaving Amberheart—and the voices calling out to them—far behind.

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At the Lonestar Manor, Rowan and Layla made their way up the stone pathway, accompanied by Goldie and Trickster. The four of them approached the entrance, calling out for Silas as they went.

“Silas! Are you here?” Rowan called, his voice carrying through the manor grounds.

Silas appeared from the doorway, his expression unusually sombre.

Rowan and Layla exchanged confused looks as they approached him.

“We saw Regina’s carriages,” Layla said, catching her breath. “We were on the other street when we saw Bai Lanhua giving money to a beggar. We ran after them, but they just left without even saying goodbye! Can you believe that?”

Rowan scratched his head, frowning. “Just like that? They left without a word?” His voice carried a mix of disbelief and frustration, building slowly. “After everything we’ve been through, they couldn’t even say goodbye!” His hands clenched into fists, his irritation simmering under the surface.

Layla sighed. “It’s like they didn’t even care about saying goodbye…”

As they ranted, Rowan suddenly stopped mid-sentence, noticing the sad smile on Silas’s face. “Hey… what’s with you?” Rowan asked, his irritation fading into concern. “Something wrong?”

Silas hesitated, his eyes dropping to the ground. “I… I talked to her before she left.” His voice was soft as if he wasn’t quite ready to share everything. "She said... that our worlds are different. That it’s better if I just stay away." His voice wavered as if he were still trying to believe the words himself.

Rowan’s lips tightened, his jaw clenching as he absorbed Silas’s words. What? His pulse quickened, anger bubbling beneath his skin. “She really said that?” he muttered under his breath, disbelief mixing with frustration.

He crossed his arms, trying to find the right words, but all that came out was, “She’s looking down on you, Silas. Like you’re beneath her.” He paused, his mind racing through the past few days, thinking of every interaction with Regina. “I can’t believe she’d say that...” He took a sharp breath, shaking his head. “You’re better off without someone like her,” he added, but the words felt forced as if he was trying to convince himself as much as Silas.

“I…I don’t know. I can’t shake this feeling.” He swallowed hard, his thoughts racing. “It felt like she was hiding something, like there’s more she didn’t say.” He trailed off, the uncertainty lingering in the air between them, weighing heavy on his shoulders.

Layla remained quiet, her eyes thoughtful. She didn’t share Rowan’s frustration. Instead, she placed a hand on Silas’s shoulder, her touch gentle but firm.

“Do you think she was telling the truth?” she asked softly.

Silas hesitated again, the weight of the question pressing on him. After a moment of silence, he shook his head. “No… I don’t think she was. I feel like she was lying, but… I don’t have any proof. It’s just a feeling.”

Layla's brow furrowed thoughtfully. "You know... my mother used to say something to me when I was a kid." She gave Silas a small, comforting smile. "She'd say... when someone lies, it's usually because they're scared of something."

She paused, her gaze softening as she met Silas's eyes. "Maybe that's what Regina's doing. She's hiding something, sure, but the reason matters more than the lie itself." Her smile turned gentle. "Next time you see her, don't go in accusing her. Just... ask her why."

Silas looked at her, her words slowly sinking in. He sighed, but this time, it was a sigh of relief rather than sadness. A faint smile touched his lips as he nodded.

“You’re right,” he said, feeling a little lighter now that he had shared his thoughts. “I’ll ask her. If we meet again.”

Rowan grumbled but nodded in agreement. “Yeah, well, if she does come back, we’ll set things straight.”

Silas let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He looked between Rowan and Layla, feeling their quiet strength beside him. Layla gave his shoulder a firm squeeze, her touch grounding him.

“You’ll figure it out,” she said, her voice steady. Rowan, though still frowning, gave a nod of agreement. “We’ve got your back,” he muttered, crossing his arms.

Silas smiled, the heavy weight in his chest easing as he stood alongside his friends. He knew one thing for sure: whatever the future held, he wasn’t facing it alone.