Ren stood paralyzed, the torch beam painting a gold streak across the lush green floor of the cavern. The air here was unlike anything he had ever breathed—pure, charged, and vibrantly alive. His Beast was silent, completely overwhelmed by the presence of the man standing before him.
The man who spoke was older, his face etched with worry and the weariness of solitude, but his eyes held the familiar, deep-set intelligence Ren remembered.
"Father?" Ren choked out, the word barely a whisper, tainted with disbelief and a torrent of unexpressed grief. "How are you alive? What is this place?"
His father, Renault Sr., walked slowly toward him, his movement stiff but purposeful. He was wearing clothes of woven fiber that seemed to grow naturally in the cavern. A profound, tired smile touched his lips as he took in the sight of his son.
