I Die to Rise: Resurrection System-Chapter 66: The Four Families!

Everyone had a job to do. And right now, Kurt’s job was to bleed into a bloody bucket.

His hand hung over the rim, palm sliced open, and blood trickled slowly into the growing pool below. The cut stung, a dull, persistent throb that radiated up his arm, and watching the crimson droplets fall one by one was possibly the most boring way he’d ever spent his time.

"Is there any faster way to do this?" Kurt groaned, his voice edged with impatience.

Lizzie sat cross-legged on the floor beside him, chin resting on her hands, watching the bucket with mild fascination. "I could cut your radial artery, but you’d bleed out in minutes, and we don’t want that. Don’t know what dying again would do with the cosmic fuzz already on your ass."

Kurt let out a long, suffering sigh. "Just my bloody luck..."

"You said blood," Lizzie said with a wide grin, barely containing her laughter.

Before Kurt could respond, Emma appeared in the doorway, her expression serious. "Sam’s awake."

Kurt looked down at the bucket, then back at Emma. "Right. I’ll just... grab this blood bucket here."

He stood carefully, gripping the handle with his free hand, and followed Emma out of the room. Two words he never imagined he’d put together in his life: blood bucket. Yet here he was, carrying one like it was the most natural thing in the world.

They entered the room where Sam was resting, and Kurt immediately noticed how crowded it had become. Rook stood near the window, arms crossed. Cassandra sat on a chair positioned against the wall. Emma took up position near the door. Zaza stood in the corner, silent and unobtrusive as always.

And in the center of it all, Sam sat upright on the bed, her face pale and her eyes wide as she took in the room full of people staring at her.

Her hands fidgeted with the blanket draped over her lap, and she shrank slightly under the weight of their collective gazes. "I... um... hi?"

Lizzie immediately shoved her way through the crowd, her small frame squeezing between Rook and Cassandra. "Step aside, step aside! Guild medic coming through!"

She plopped down beside Sam, pulling out a small flashlight and shining it in her eyes. "So, how ya doing? Migraines? Fever? Nausea?" Lizzie’s fingers began to glow faintly green as she scanned Sam’s body with essence.

Kurt watched her work, a small smile tugging at his lips. For all her chaotic energy, Lizzie was damn good at what she did.

"All good!" Lizzie chirped after a moment, pulling her hands back. "You activated an ability your body wasn’t used to. The flow of essence in your system got disrupted, but a few more hours of rest and you should be just fine."

Sam blinked, her dazed expression slowly sharpening as her senses returned. She looked around the room again, taking in everyone’s faces, and then her eyes landed on Kurt. "Where are we? And why is Kurt bleeding into a bucket?!"

Kurt lifted the bucket slightly. "Long story. And right now, we’ve only got time for one story." He glanced at Rook, who stepped forward.

Rook’s tone was calm but firm, the kind of voice that demanded answers without raising volume. "I want to know what a Crowley is doing all the way out here from the S-rank district."

"I’m sorry, did you just say S-rank?" Kurt interrupted, his eyes widening. He looked around the room, but no one else seemed surprised. Emma’s expression didn’t change. Neither did Cassandra’s.

Rook turned to Kurt, his voice patient. "No surprise you’re unaware. You can’t remember. But there are Four Families that run things alongside the world government. They control most of the high-level operations related to guilds, dungeons, even portions of the Authority."

Kurt set the bucket down carefully, his mind racing. "Four Families?"

Sam’s voice came as barely a whisper. "The Masquerades. The Steins. The Mondlichts..." She paused, her hands gripping the blanket tighter. "...and the Crowleys."

Her eyes dropped to her lap as she bit on her lower lip. "I’m sorry I lied. I’ll tell you everything."

"Well, this should be good," Kurt muttered. He looked around for somewhere to sit. Cassandra’s lap looked comfortable, but he had a strong feeling she’d help him bleed out faster if he attempted that. Instead, he found a small stool in the corner and dragged it over, settling down with the blood bucket between his feet.

Sam took a shaky breath, her fingers twisting the fabric of the blanket nervously. "It all began eight years ago..."

Everyone in the room went still. Even Lizzie stopped fidgeting.

Sam’s voice was soft, hesitant, but she pushed through. "I was... I am part of the Crowley family. Like all four, each family is divided into the extended and the main... and my father is Lord Bradley Crowley, head of the main family. My mother is Lady Clementine."

She paused, swallowing hard. "Was. She died when I was twelve."

Kurt leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees. He didn’t interrupt.

"Each of the families possesses a unique bloodline," Sam continued, her hands still fidgeting. "It’s like... like being born with certain traits that give you access to abilities others can’t learn."

She looked down at her hands. "For the Crowleys in general, some of us awaken one of two bloodline traits. The Heavenly Resistance, or the Star Sovereign Eyes." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Her voice dropped lower. "But for the main family... the direct bloodline... we’re supposed to awaken both."

Rook stepped forward, his expression thoughtful. "I know a bit about the Heavenly Resistance. It is supposed to grant a Crowleys near-immunity to poisons, diseases, curses, sealings, soul manipulation, mind manipulation, and most status effects. It’s purely defensive. A passive protection that makes them almost untouchable in that regard."

He crossed his arms. "The Star Sovereign Eyes, though... I don’t know much. Just that it’s combat-focused. And that it comes with four key abilities, each one represented by a star that not all Crowleys can unlock."

Sam nodded as she whispered. "You’re mostly right."

She took another breath, steadying herself. "My brother and sister awakened their Star Sovereign Eyes when they were six years old. My eldest brother, Damon, awakened his when he was one. And he awakened with all four stars."

Her hands clenched the blanket tighter. "But... I wasn’t able to awaken anything. Not the Heavenly Resistance, or the Eyes. Nothing."

The room was silent, the weight of her words settling over them.

"My sister always called me a failure," Sam said quietly. "My father said my siblings were born lucky. He said I was lucky to be born." Her voice cracked. "He even had me take a DNA test to confirm I was his."

Kurt’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing.

"The only people in my family who cared about me were my mother and Damon," Sam continued. "But mama’s dead. And Damon... Damon puts duty above everything else."

She looked up, tears welling in her eyes. "So when my father wanted me to marry into the Masquerade family, an arranged marriage to strengthen political ties, I turned to Damon. My only protector. And he turned his back on me."

Her voice broke. "I was thirteen! And my family wanted to marry me off to a forty-three-year-old man."

Emma’s expression darkened, and her eyes shifted to the ground, a subtle shift in her body language that Kurt took notice of.

"I refused," Sam said, her voice gaining a little strength. "I fought. I screamed. But my father didn’t care. He said it was my duty. That the family came first."

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "The rest of my siblings said that was the least a failure like me could do. That I should be grateful I could still be useful."

Emma’s fists clenched at her sides.

"So I ran," Sam said. "I left everything behind. My title. My family. My name. I ended up in the F-rank district with nothing. No money, no connections, no idea how to survive. So I learnt how to con my way into food and a place to sleep."

Lizzie’s hand moved to Sam’s, squeezing gently.

"That’s when Mama Imelda found me," Sam continued. "She took me in. Gave me a place to stay. Taught me other ways to survive besides running scams. She never asked questions. Never judged me. And I thought... I thought I could just disappear. That they’d forget about me."

Her eyes lifted, meeting Rook’s. "But the Crowleys don’t forget. They don’t let go. If my father finds out where I am..." She trailed off, her voice breaking. "He’ll drag me back. Or worse."

The room was silent for a long moment.

Then Kurt finally spoke, his tone intentionally soft to lighten the heavy atmosphere. "That explains the whole ’glowing eyes and telekinetic forcefield’ thing."

Sam let out a weak, tearful laugh, her hands clutching the blanket. "I didn’t think it would ever happen. I thought I was just... broken. But when Braun’s attack came, something inside me snapped, and suddenly I could feel everything. The barrier just... formed."

She looked down at her hands. "I don’t know how many stars I have. Or what else I can do. It all happened so fast."

Cassandra crossed her legs, her voice sharp but not unkind. "So you’ve been hiding in the E-rank district for eight years, pretending to be a nobody, and now your secret’s out."

"Pretty much," Sam whispered.

Rook stepped forward, his expression softening slightly. "You saved the guild. You saved lives. That’s all that matters to me." He glanced around the room. "But we need to know, are they looking for you? Actively?"

Sam hesitated. "I... I don’t know. My father has resources. Spies everywhere. But I’ve been careful. I’ve stayed off the radar. Kept my head down... well mostly down."

Rook said with a tone that was firm. "You’re part of this guild now. That means we protect our own."

Sam’s eyes filled with fresh tears, and she wiped them away quickly, her cheeks flushing. She nodded, her voice small but sincere. "Thank you. I... I’m really glad I met you all."

Kurt stood, stretching his back with a groan, and picked up the blood bucket he’d set beside the stool. "You’re goddamn right we protect our own. Now let’s go make plans on how to protect me, because the clock is ticking."

As soon as the words left his mouth, a pillow flew across the room and smacked him in the face.

Emma lowered her hand. "Read the room, asshole."

Kurt pulled the pillow off his face, grinning, then looked at Sam. His expression shifting to something serious and sincere for a moment. "Look, love. You ran from a bad situation and made your own way. That takes guts. And for what it’s worth, I think you’re better off here with us lunatics than you ever were with them."

Sam blinked, fresh tears threatening to spill, and she smiled. "Thank you, Kurt."

"Don’t mention it." He tipped an imaginary hat, and a second after, the countdown appeared in Kurt’s vision like a reminder.

[REAPER BANISHMENT DURATION REMAINING: 36:42:18]

And with that, Kurt’s grin faded slightly. "Right. Time’s wasting. Let’s move."