Chapter 27: The Prophecy

After Lucy left, Sam trained for an hour before returning home, where he felt many hostile eyes on him.

"They purposely placed the first-year residents in the very back, didn't they?" Sam muttered to himself as he walked past the second and third-year residential areas.

It had only been a day, and he was already attracting too much attention.

He sighed, ignoring the hostile gazes, and arrived home to find Isabelle standing in front of his room.

Her expression was one of irritation, as if she were mad at him for something.

"You're here," she said, her tone sharp.

"And you are too," Sam replied, confused.

He wondered why she seemed upset and if he had done something wrong.

"Where were you?" Isabelle asked, crossing her arms like a wife reprimanding her husband for leaving without a word.

"I was doing a bit of early morning training. Why? What's wrong?" Sam asked, not appreciating the accusatory look she was giving him.

"Why didn't you tell me before you went?" she demanded.

"Is that what she's mad about?" Sam thought, baffled by her reaction.

They had only officially met the day before, and after that, she had asked his mother to let her live with him.

She even wanted to spend time alone with him.

Now she was mad that he didn't tell her where he was going, like a housewife would be.

What should he say to her now? How should he handle this situation?

He had been raised with four sisters, so he figured he could manage it.

Whenever his sisters accused him of something he hadn't even done, he learned a way to defuse the situation.

This method even worked with his mother.

"I'm sorry, it was my fault. I shouldn't have gone without telling you," he said.

No matter how right you are, in front of a woman, you are always wrong.

His father's words, not his.

It was that easy to cool down a brooding girl: just admit you're wrong, even if you're right.

"Mmm," Isabelle's mood improved upon hearing his apology.

"Don't go anywhere without informing me. We're living together; we should always know where each other is."

Sam gently patted her shoulder. "Why don't you head to class with Yuki while I go freshen up?"

Isabelle shook her head vigorously. "No, I want to go together with you. I'll wait for you."

Yuki appeared as well, nodding in agreement with Isabelle.

Strangely, they didn't seem to be at each other's throats this morning.

'It seems they are getting along well,' Sam thought to himself. 'I wonder what happened between them to reward me with this outcome'

"Alright, I'll go freshen up," Sam said, nodding at them.

He was about to head to the bathroom but stopped midway and turned back around.

"I can bathe on my own," Sam said, noticing that both of them were following him.

"Wait outside my room," he instructed clearly before closing the door.

Isabelle and Yuki glanced at each other before each took a seat outside his room.

From time to time, they would cast wary glances at each other.

...

Some time ago, a few minutes after Sam had left home for his early morning training, Isabelle woke up and went straight to his room, only to find it empty.

"I can't believe he didn't tell me where he was going, especially when I'm with him," she muttered to herself.

Only then did she realize she wasn't alone—Yuki was also there, for the same reason, she presumed.

Isabelle didn't want to start an argument with Yuki.

There was something about her that she couldn't ignore, similar to what she felt with Sam, but tinged with competitiveness and annoyance.

Turning to go back to her room, she noted that there was still more than three hours until sunrise.

"You have it too, don't you?" Yuki's voice surprised her, causing Isabelle to stop in her tracks.

"What?" Isabelle questioned.

"This," Yuki replied softly, turning her back to reveal her snow-white hair lifted to expose a birthmark on the back of her neck. 

It was shaped like the roots of a tree—an ancient tree's roots, starting from the base, devoid of trunk, leaves, or branches.

"You..." Isabelle's expression turned to surprise.

She quickly lifted her long golden hair to reveal a similar birthmark on the back of her neck, shaped like tree roots, just like Yuki's.

"We aren't so different after all," Yuki said, a rare smile forming on her face. "You know what this means, don't you?"

"Of course I do, or I wouldn't be here... I never expected there would be someone else besides me," Isabelle admitted.

Yuki looked at her thoughtfully for a few seconds before speaking again. "My father, the hero King... he once mentioned a prophecy to me about this."

"Long ago, a prophecy was foretold," Isabelle began, reciting from memory.

"The man born of miracles, an anomaly known to all, he who bridges the realms, marked by destiny," Yuki continued, her voice steady.

"Grew under the universal blessings, he is the key to Eternity and Samsara. With him comes both chaos and order," Isabelle added, her tone solemn.

"Beside him, saintesses of the elements, bearing the birthmark of the Tree Root, symbols of earth and life, shall emerge,"

"When the time is ripe and they reunite, the Emperor shall rise once again. His faithful may look up, for the gates of nine hells and heavens will open in full glory, and the balance shall tremble, as chaos intertwines with order," 

"He shall usher forth Creation," 

"And destruction," 

"For he embodies infinity and dreams," they both said in unison, their words resonating in the quiet room.

For a moment, silence enveloped them as they gazed solemnly at each other.

"How long have you known that you're part of this... prophecy?" Yuki asked, settling onto Sam's bed and supporting her weight on her arms against the cushion.

"For a while... my mother told me a few days before the awakening ceremony," Isabelle replied, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. "I believe his family members know about this as well."

"Why do you say that?"

"His mother and mine are good friends. When my mother suggested I live with him, his mother didn't question it. I figured she must have known about my destiny with her son, so they arranged it," Isabelle said, smiling slightly.

Suddenly, Yuki also had a realization.

When her father, the Hero King, asked her to live with Sam, he mentioned that he had already spoken with Sam's grandfather about the arrangement.

"Now that you mention it, I also suspect they knew about this. At least his grandfather knew," Yuki said, sighing.

"Do you... believe he's the one the prophecy talks about?" Yuki asked.

"I don't know. I'm not sure anyone knows who the prophecy refers to, but I want it to be him. There's a feeling I can't ignore that makes me believe he's the one," Isabelle glanced at Yuki.

"Everyone seems to think he's the one, but there's been no proof or signs."

"What about you?"

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't want him to be my destiny," Yuki replied, her gaze drifting to a photo frame on the bedside table displaying Sam with his four sisters.

"It seems we're on the same page."

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[A/N: If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider supporting it with a few Power Stones. And if you absolutely loved it, you can even contribute a Golden Ticket. Your support means a lot to me! Thank you very much! - Arigato! 🙏]