The embrace between father and daughter felt endless.
Richard's massive arms refused to let go, and Emilia's smaller frame clung with equal desperation.
They held onto one another as if they feared the moment they parted, the other would vanish again like smoke.
It was so intense, so raw, that anyone who walked into the room might have mistaken them for star-crossed lovers reunited after years apart, not a father and his daughter.
Azel, watching from the side, simply thought,
'Which is fine. Better this than those depressing half-dead reunions.'
The thought brought back memories he didn't care to dwell on — bodies broken, blood everywhere, two people crawling into each other's arms just to die together.
That imagery had always left a bad taste in his mouth.
The game was truly sad.
Compared to that, this — this desperate, loving reunion was tolerable.
He stepped farther into the room, his eyes naturally drifting to the others.
