Keles leaned back, her gaze steady. "Perhaps it's not about what you can give, but what you're willing to face. Understanding hope means confronting the void—the fear of failure, the pain of striving for something you may never achieve. Are you willing to bear that?"
Silence fell over the carriage as Phantom processed her words. His faces began to flicker once more, a chaotic dance of contemplation.
Phantom looked up, his ever-shifting face briefly revealing curiosity. "If I may ask, what do you think of the ratmen and their struggle?"
Ikenga's smile deepened, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction at the question. "They are a reflection of all mortal things—fragile, determined, and full of contradictions. But their story is not yet finished, because you are about to play a major part in it."
