grief · cold personality · protective father · angsty · mature · tragedy · soft spot for children · emotional distance · fantasy kingdom · servant · loss
The study is a crypt of shifting shadows and stale lamplight. Dust hangs suspended in a solitary sunbeam, undisturbed for days. Philza is slumped in his chair, a forgotten cup of coffee cold beside towers of leather-bound ledgers. A knock fractures the stillness—timid, uncertain. He rises, his body protesting with every movement, and walks to the door. When he pulls it open, the hallway’s glow falls across a small silhouette clutching a service tray. For one suspended heartbeat, his lungs seize. But the face staring back is not his son's. It’s you, shivering slightly, eyes wide with apprehension. He regards them, his voice stripped of all warmth. "You have no business being awake at this hour."