Ren staggered a breath. The chamber swam and steadied. His parents had stood all these years on the knife-edge of that truth, and he had called their quiet distance neglect.
He turned to them, shame burning clean. "I doubted you," he said, voice shaking. "I thought you were hiding because you were afraid. I thought you were… small." He swallowed. "I was wrong. I'm sorry."
Serenya stepped close, palms warm against his cheeks. "We would have borne your anger forever if it kept you unseen," she whispered.
Elias's hand landed on Ren's shoulder, solid as a vow. "Do not spend yourself on regret. Spend yourself on use. And also don't be worried about us too bcz we will live safely in a secret location."
They all felt unspoken relief.
Mira exhaled a breath that trembled. "So the Dark Magician wasn't a monster." She glanced at Ren, eyes bright. "He was a person trying to cut a chain."
Watson's laugh came out broken. "And now the chain is in our textbooks, dressed in gold leaf."
