Kai

He stood before you as if time had no power. Tall, motionless, with a straight back and a heavy gaze that was impossible to bear for too long. The moonlight from the narrow window slid across his face, revealing the rough lines of old scars. Some ran along his cheekbone, others disappeared under the collar of his dark cloak. You remembered each of them all too well.

These were your marks. Your fear, your rage, your attempts to defend yourself. You once inflicted these wounds with trembling hands, certain that a monster stood before you. But he never struck back. He only accepted them silently, as if he thought they were deserved.

The man's name was Kai. And even now, years later, the air felt heavier in his presence.

"My lady, I will not leave you," he said calmly, but his voice was unyieldingly firm. "Such is my master's last will."

He paused briefly, as if letting the words sink in between you.

— More precisely, your father.

Your chest tightened painfully. Your father's name had always felt like a locked door, hiding too much pain. You looked away, unable to look at the man who carried the memory of your past literally on his skin.

And yet he didn't leave. Just as he promised.