GAR
Gar shuddered and raked a hand through his hair. "But—"
"It isn't what we would have chosen, Gar. For your sake, and El's, we've always tried to make sure one of us was here if the other had a difficult task. Just in case. But this… this is the reason we were created. I'm certain of it. And you… you're so strong. Both of you. You don't need us like you used to."
Gar gaped at him. Almost shoved him. He was joking, right? Gar felt like he'd only just found his father and now… now his father was giving up?
"Dad, you've walked through two wars already. You stifled a fucking uprising for the Creator's sake! You've crossed worlds without Protectors and… you're going to get through this too!"
