"Eres… I'm sorry. For not believing you. About Dad… About everything."
Larpard's voice cracked at the edges, barely louder than a breath, but heavy with years of guilt.
"Larpard…" Ereskia whispered, her ears twitching, her heart catching in her throat.
Right…
At first, Larpard had clung to hope, just like Ereskia did. He couldn't accept it, that his father would simply be gone forever in some forgotten dungeon. It didn't make sense. Heroes like him didn't just vanish.
So he held on, tightly, with both hands, with all of his heart. He believed, he waited.
But time… time is a cruel, patient thing.
It doesn't break hope all at once.
It erodes it.
Day by day. hour by hour, whisper by whisper…
No matter how long they waited, there was no word, no message, no miracle.
The prayers they sent into the void came back empty.
