The night in the world of Nimora was cloaked in a strange silence. No storm, no wind, only a dense fog creeping over the earth's surface as if the ground was breathing through it. Adam sat on a large rock overlooking a deep valley, his eyes fixed on the pendant he inherited from his grandmother.
Zera appeared silently behind him, her footsteps barely audible, and whispered:
"The feeling of calm here is terrifying, as if it's telling us that the next storm won't be like the previous ones..."
Adam didn't turn around; he was lost in thought. He said in a low voice:
"Zera... did you know? Did you know that my grandmother might... not have been my real grandmother?"
Zera's features trembled for a moment, then she sat beside him:
"I had my doubts. From the first time I saw you, you were different. There's something in you that doesn't resemble humans... nor does it resemble Nimora."
He turned to her slowly, his eyes filled with a storm of questions:
"If I wasn't her grandson... then who am I? And why am I the one with this ability to communicate with Laboubo, to endure the rituals, to see both worlds?"
Before she could answer, Laboubo suddenly emerged from the fog, paler than usual, as if he had come from a long battle. He said in a sharp voice:
"The answer... isn't just in the past, but in the blood itself. Your blood carries the mark of an ancient seal... blood tainted with memories that aren't yours."
Adam stood up quickly:
"Speak clearly, Laboubo!"
The small creature pointed toward the valley:
"In the depths of this chasm lies the true gateway... the gateway your grandmother passed through for the first time. But she wasn't alone; she was accompanied by something... something evil she tried to stop, but failed."
He paused for a moment, then added:
"That thing... became a part of you."
Adam felt the ground shake beneath his feet—not from an earthquake, but from the weight of the truth.
"Do you mean that I...?"
Laboubo interrupted him with glowing eyes:
"You are the final embodiment of an ancient failure... or the last hope for ending the curse."
Zera placed her hand on Adam's chest:
"I don't care if you were deceived or created... you are still the Adam I chose to fight beside."
But Adam couldn't breathe normally; he felt something moving inside his blood... as if a faint call was creeping through his veins.
Suddenly, the fog parted before them, revealing a masked man standing on the edge of the valley, holding a black sword that bled smoke.
He said in a low voice:
"I've been waiting for this day for decades... O Son of the Seal."
Adam slowly raised his head, his eyes igniting with a fire unlike anything they had ever seen before.
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### 🕯️ Motivational Quote at the End of the Part:
> "Do not let your truth be defined by what you inherited… but by what you choose to do with that inheritance."