Ryu's smile was gentle and filled with care. Eska's, however, narrowed the moment she saw him. Sizing him up, she immediately felt something she couldn't fathom. What she understood the least, though, wasn't Ryu's power, but the care and affection in his eyes.
However, she had long become used to ruling the Zu Clan. The burden of it all had always rested on her shoulders.
She could feel the end of their time coming, the same struggle that all powerful clans went through. It was the inevitable fall of everything.
When you reached the peak, there was nowhere else to go but down. That was the irony of reaching that goal Ryu had been chasing after all his life.
"You're tired," Ryu said with a gentle smile.
Eska's pupils trembled. "You… who are you…"
Her heart was beating rapidly, so hard that she couldn't control it. There was a longing deep within her that she couldn't describe.
