Claude felt a tug at his robe.
"Daddy, can I come too?" Aquila looked up at him, her eyes wide and gleaming like polished rubies.
Her round cheeks puffed like a chipmunk's, her tiny hands clutching at his coat. It was the kind of gaze a father could never say no to.
Claude sighed with a gentle smile and crouched down. "Alright, darling. But you both stay back and watch from afar, understood? I want you by Heinrich's side at all times."
He ruffled her soft hair as she beamed in delight, hugging him tightly around the neck.
With that, the three of them stepped into the teleportation circle—one of many linked through the Elysium outposts.
Though the magic drastically shortened travel time, the journey still required half a day to reach the forward base in Mycetia where Heinrich and his forces awaited.
As they emerged from the shimmering glyphs of the teleportation array, the air shifted—denser, more humid, thick with the musk of woodlands and tension.
