"In the end… all I could do was mark the rift's location," Lucian said quietly. "And let you two know as soon as I could."
His gaze dropped to the floor, voice barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry…"
Ereskia stepped forward, shaking her head.
"No, don't apologize. You did the right thing. If you'd jumped in without thinking, you could've been lost too. After all, we don't even know what's on the other side of that rift."
"Yeah," Larpard added, agreeing with his bigger sister. "And the fact that there's even a chance now… there's a hope that our father might still be alive…" He looked down, smiling. "That's already more than we ever thought possible."
And so, he bowed his head.
Ereskia did the same.
"Thank you, Guildmaster. Truly." They said in unison, both body shaking with emotion.
"Hey, now! What are you two doing?" Lucian frowned and took a step forward.
