After the first group was completely healed, Dragarion made the decision to extend treatnt to other important family mbers.
"We should go heal Victor and Arturo too," he declared, his new energy level making every task seem not just possible but urgent. "Especially Arturo would significantly help collect crystals, and maybe they’re still together in the recovery wing."
Julius imdiately nodded, recognizing the practical logic. With the crystal resources they needed to move, every capable pair of hands counted, especially those of people with beasts that had facility in big or complex logistical operations.
"Also," Ren added, exchanging aningful glances with Luna and Liora, "we should heal Larissa too."
For a mont Julius seed uncomfortable and ready to argue, but before...
"We insist she deserves to find out soon that her help was relevant," Luna declared firmly.
"And she’s very smart at seeing things we sotis don’t notice," Liora completed, rembering Larissa’s perceptive observations.
Dragarion considered the suggestion for a mont, then smiled with a warmth he hadn’t shown since his return.
"I agree," he admitted. "I want to greet the daughter I left so small and who is now quite grown after so many years."
There was a note of regret in his voice he couldn’t completely hide, the understanding of how much ti he had lost with his children during his extended missions.
The weight of missed birthdays, unwitnessed achievents, and countless small monts that defined family life settled over him like a familiar burden. No mission accomplishnt, however crucial, could replace those experiences.
♢♢♢♢
The healing of Victor and Arturo was efficient and without complications.
Both brothers had been recovering from significant battle wounds, but with Selphira’s amplified magic, their restoration was complete and quick.
Victor, who had gone to sleep when he learned that Dragarion defeated Venmont, woke with much less of his usual energy due to the trauma of being defeated so easily, and imdiately began asking questions about the current situation.
Dragarion knew he copied him unconsciously and found it a bit sad to see him so down, but acted as always to give him so security. They hadn’t been attacked again and now he was healed; there didn’t seem to be anything left to fear.
Yet the psychological impact of defeat was often harder to heal than physical wounds. Victor’s confidence, built over years of aerial dominance, had been shattered in minutes by Venmont’s overwhelming power. That kind of humiliation left scars that even magical healing couldn’t touch.
Arturo rose with the adeptness of soone accustod to administrative responsibilities, already ntally calculating the logistics of crystal transport he would help with.
But it was when they arrived where Larissa rested that the situation beca emotional.
Selphira applied her water magic with particular delicacy, conscious that she was awakening the king’s youngest daughter who would see her father after years of separation. Larissa opened her eyes gradually, blinking to focus her sight while her mind processed the faces surrounding her.
When she saw her father, she began to cry.
They weren’t tears of pain or sadness, but the emotional release of soone who had been carrying worries for years and finally saw the positive resolution of her deepest fears.
"Father," she whispered, her voice broken by emotion.
Dragarion imdiately approached, but then Larissa saw Ren next to him and forced herself to regain composure, wiping away tears while trying to return to her normal dignity.
But everyone had noticed the vulnerable mont, and so weren’t going to let it pass so easily.
"Do you see what you did?" Julius began, his voice loaded with years of repressed frustration.
"You left the kingdom so many years without a King," Victor added, his tone more direct and less diplomatic than his younger brother’s.
Selphira imdiately joined the chorus of reproaches, her authority as the group’s maternal figure giving her license to be particularly direct.
"Do you have any idea how many nights this girl stayed awake wondering if her father would ever return?" she told him with an intensity that made even the air in the room feel colder and heavier. "How many tis Julius had to make decisions that shouldn’t have been his responsibility?"
Arturo, normally more reserved, also added his softened voice to the sermon.
"The kingdom’s administration, diplomatic relations, the people’s morale... everything fell on us while you pursued your mysterious mission."
The accumulated grievances poured out like water from a broken dam. Years of stress, responsibility thrust upon unprepared shoulders, and the constant uncertainty about their father’s fate...
Dragarion knew they were right, completely right. There were no valid excuses for the pain he had caused his family, regardless of how noble or necessary his objective had been. So he decided to receive the criticism in silence, although his renewed good mood didn’t help him appear appropriately repentant.
Selphira’s sermon continued for several more minutes, each family mber adding their own legitimate complaints about abandonnt, imposed responsibilities, and lost opportunities.
Finally, Ren decided to intervene.
He had been observing the family dynamics with the perspective of soone who, despite his youth, had access to information the others didn’t possess. His fungus new network had given him the information about exactly what the rings and the mission Dragarion had been pursuing implied.
"I think Larissa is stronger than you think," Ren said, directing his comnt both to the family and indirectly defending the king.
He moved closer to where Larissa was sitting, evaluating her deanor with his mana eyes and enhanced perception.
"And I think that, with what little I know about the king’s mission, he really had no choice," he continued, looking Larissa in the eyes. "The rings he was seeking... aren’t optional collectibles. They are absolute necessities for the kingdom’s survival. He did it for us."
Zhao, who had remained quiet during the family reproaches, finally decided to join the defense.
"I can confirm that I experienced firsthand the difficulty of that mission," he declared, his voice loaded with the experience of soone who had almost died in the process. "What the king faced to get just one of those rings... wasn’t sothing that could be delegated or postponed."
His testimony carried particular weight because everyone present knew that Zhao had no political reasons to defend Dragarion. His loyalty was to the kingdom, and his defense was based purely on professional experience.
"The creatures I encountered, the power levels involved," Zhao continued, "honestly, it’s a miracle that I returned."
The validation from soone of Zhao’s reputation and integrity added considerable weight to the defense.
Yet Selphira still wasn’t completely convinced and clearly wanted to continue with more sermons, but their urgent reality imposed itself.
"There are things to do," she admitted reluctantly, "and Yino is surely doing things on their part while we discuss so family responsibilities..."
It was a sensible concession more than emotional resolution, but it recognized that the timing for family therapy was less than ideal.
"In the end, we need our king," Julius added, though his tone also suggested the conversation hadn’t ended permanently.
Ren, seeing the tension still remaining in the air, approached Larissa and whispered a suggestion.
"You missed him a lot... Maybe you could hug him," he told her gently. "Not to forgive everything, but to show that you’re the most mature girl I know and you understand that complicated situations require difficult decisions."
Larissa considered the boy’s words, then looked at her father who stood there, clearly repentant but also clearly uncomfortable from the emotional bombardnt.
After a mont of hesitation and looking at Ren’s eyes again, she finally approached and hugged her father.
It wasn’t a hug that resolved years of pain, but it was a recognition that family love could coexist with justified disappointnt.
The embrace was both healing and incomplete, acknowledging the complexity of love that survives despite hurt. It was, maybe... the first step toward reconciliation.
Luna observed the hug with a thoughtful expression.
Her eyes turned toward where her father, Sirius, leaned against the wall, then back toward the family reunion occurring in front of her. For a mont, she seed about to approach her own father, but after thinking about it, decided to stay where she was.
Her situation was similar but different, and perhaps more complicated in its own ways. The dynamics of her family carried their own unspoken tensions and issues.
Liora, affected by the emotional mont and missing her parents too, moved closer to Selphira again, seeking the maternal comfort the older woman provided so naturally. So tears found outlet in the normally "cheerful" girl.
Watching the family dynamics made Ren realize sothing important too.
"My parents must still be worried about ," he realized, letting out a murmur. "I should write a ssage to inform them I’m well."
The realization led him to a broader idea.
"That way I can also ask them to send the teachers and so of my things," he continued. "To be able to obtain my next beast and continue cultivating."
It was practical and forward-looking thinking, showing he understood both the emotional importance of family communication and the necessity of his continued developnt.
The family crisis had been temporarily resolved, but more importantly, had revealed the strength of bonds that could survive even years of separation and justified resentnt. Now they needed to focus that strength toward the external threats that required their unified attention.
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