Wei wanted to continue interrogating him to find some way to reduce or avoid the risk, but the resolution on Ren's face was immovable.
Reed observed his son, the turtle mirroring his thoughtful posture.
How much had Ren really changed in this year?
Or had he always possessed this hardness, just waiting for circumstances to manifest it?
Fern still struggled to process everything that had occurred in the last few hours. The loss of their home, the attack, the transformation into double tamers... and now her son, barely emerged from childhood, was planning to venture into the deadly outer forest.
"Are you sure you must do this?" she asked, her voice betraying her fear. "We've already lost so much today..."
Ren took his mother's hands between his own. His touch was gentle but firm, the contrast between his child-sized hands and his adult-like resolve making the moment more poignant.
