The King of Yano, the most powerful man in the kingdom, the warrior who had faced dragons and emerged victorious, knelt before an eleven-year-old boy.
"Please," he murmured, and now his voice carried no royal authority. It was simply the voice of a desperate man asking for help. "Not as a King, but as a father."
His hands moved to take Larissa's, holding them with a gentleness that made more tears flow with greater intensity down his daughter's cheeks.
"Help me save my daughter," he pleaded, gently kissing Larissa's forehead. "My family. My people. Yourself."
He turned toward Ren directly, and in his eyes was a vulnerability the boy had never seen before.
The great king, reduced to his most essential self, asking for power not for conquest or glory but for the chance to protect what mattered most.
"I entrust you to care for Larissa in my absence," he murmured. "Promise me you'll do whatever is necessary to keep her safe."
