After the service was concluded and the body laid to rest… Ambrose and the others stood outside Gabriel's family house.
The sun was already setting; it was dull in a way that made it seem like the sky itself mourned with them.
Orion had woken up now—silent, just like the way he's been since that nightmare.
He didn't make any comments. He didn't even talk about being hungry, although Ambrose could've sworn he heard his stomach rumble shortly after he woke up.
The boy just stared blankly at the old cottage, barely holding on to his father's shoulder.
[His energy readings are stable.]
[Maybe a little too stable…]
Ambrose's jaw tightened at that.
Whatever happened in that nightmare had shifted something in his son's psyche.
It just wasn't fair.
They've been through enough.
Yet more and more problems keep hitting them, each one reminding Ambrose in the most painful way possible that he still wasn't powerful enough to protect his family or those they cherished.
