Gone were the statues, the divine gates, the trees, and the sky.
Now there was only white. Endless, infinite white. Like they'd stepped into the very space between time and being—where memories weren't fragmented, just paused. There was no sound. No sky. No ground. Just them.
Parker held her. Still. Not like a warrior. Not like a god.
Like a father.
Her little arms clung tightly to his neck, her face buried into his collarbone, tears soaking the fabric as quiet sobs trembled through her body. She didn't shake like someone afraid—she shook like someone whose heart had finally stopped breaking after years of holding it all in.
Her voice was cracked and muffled.
"Daddy… I missed you… I missed you so, so much…"
