Manaia hugged me from behind, her soft body pressing against mine as we continued watching the sun set on the horizon.
"I hope they can grow after this," I told her, my voice barely a whisper. "The path to becoming strong is hard."
"I know, Jax, that's why I support your decisions. You're the leader we need," she replied, her warm breath on my neck.
"I saw too many people fall in these past years," I continued, my gaze fixed on the reddish sky. "Many were due to carelessness, they fell into such dumb traps, and others out of pity. If there's one thing my time in that damn kingdom taught me, it's that if you hesitate to kill your enemies, the only thing waiting for you is death. I don't want them to suffer the same fate."
