Chapter 78: Before the Departure

Chapter 78: Chapter 78: Before the Departure

The expedition took considerably longer to organize than Ren had initially hoped, nearly two weeks of careful planning, security coordination, and the kind of methodical bureaucratic preparation Reven insisted was necessary given the region’s dangerous, unpredictable history.

Ren spent the time split between growing impatience and genuine gratitude for the thoroughness, old instinct toward immediate action tempered by hard-won understanding that reckless haste had rarely served him well.

The hardest part, by far, was explaining the upcoming departure to Milo and Finn.

"You’re leaving," Milo said flatly, the evening before departure, something careful and guarded settling over his expression despite months of growing trust between them.

"Not permanently," Ren said quickly, crouching to properly meet both boys’ eyes. "This is an expedition, a research trip. Reven and Yegard are coming with me, and Alouis is staying here specifically to look after both of you while we’re gone."

"How long," Finn asked, small voice carrying obvious, barely contained worry.

"Two weeks, maybe three," Ren admitted honestly, unwilling to offer false certainty given the genuinely unpredictable nature of what they were investigating. "I know that feels like a long time. I promise you, I’ll message every single day that I can, and the moment we’re finished, I’m coming straight back to you both."

Milo’s jaw tightened, old fear resurfacing despite his evident effort to maintain composure. "Is this about the people trying to hurt you," he asked, careful and direct as always. "The Architect."

"Partially," Ren admitted, deciding honesty served them better than careful evasion at this point. "We think there might be a connection between what they want and some region of space that’s never been properly explored. We need to understand it before they can use it against us."

"That sounds dangerous," Milo said, something fierce and protective cutting through his careful composure.

"It might be," Ren acknowledged. "But Yegard and Reven are both coming, and we’re bringing considerable security. I’m not doing this recklessly, I promise you that."

Finn launched himself forward then, wrapping tight around Ren’s neck with fierce, desperate urgency. "Promise you’ll come back," he said, voice muffled and shaking slightly.

"I promise," Ren said, holding the boy close, old guilt and fierce protective love tangling together in his chest. "Always."

Milo joined the embrace a moment later, considerably more restrained but no less genuine, and Ren held both boys close for a long moment, gathering what comfort he could from their presence before the coming separation.

"Alouis will take excellent care of you both," Ren said finally, pulling back slightly to meet their eyes properly. "And the Emperor and Queen are here too, if you need anything at all. You won’t be alone."

"We know," Milo said, something resigned but accepting in his tone. "We’ll be okay. Just... be careful. Please."

"I will," Ren said, meaning it completely.

He found Alouis later that evening, reviewing security protocols with the same methodical focus she brought to everything, and settled beside her with genuine gratitude for her willingness to take on such significant responsibility during their absence.

"Thank you," he said simply, "for staying, for watching over them while we’re gone."

"They’re practically my family too, at this point," Alouis said, something warm entering her usually practical tone. "I wouldn’t have it any other way." She studied him for a moment, something more serious settling into her expression. "Are you properly prepared for this? Whatever you actually find out there?"

Ren considered the question honestly. "I don’t know," he admitted. "I’ve never properly understood how I ended up in this world at all. If this expedition actually reveals something concrete about that, I don’t know how I’ll feel about it."

"Whatever you find," Alouis said, something steady and reassuring in her tone, "you’re not facing it alone. You have Yegard and Reven both, and whatever happens, you’ll have a family waiting here for your return, regardless of what you actually discover."

Ren felt genuine warmth settle alongside his lingering anxiety at that reassurance. "Thank you," he said again, meaning it fully.

He found Yegard and Reven together in the private wing’s common area later that night, both men engaged in final preparations for the next morning’s departure, and settled between them with the familiar comfort that had become such a significant part of his new life.

"Nervous," Reven asked, setting aside his equipment checklist to focus fully on Ren.

"Terrified, honestly," Ren admitted. "Not just about the danger, though that’s certainly part of it. About what we might actually find there. What it might mean about... everything."

Yegard’s hand found his, steady and grounding. "Whatever we discover," he said quietly, "it doesn’t change who you’ve already become here. The life you’ve built, the people who love you, that remains true regardless of whatever answers this expedition provides."

"I know," Ren said, though old uncertainty lingered despite the genuine comfort of the reassurance. "I just keep thinking about that survey team, two centuries ago. What they experienced, strongly enough that they abandoned the entire mission rather than continue investigating. What if whatever’s actually there is considerably more dangerous than we’re currently prepared for?"

"Then we’ll adapt," Reven said firmly. "Whatever we encounter, we have resources, preparation, and each other. We’re not approaching this blindly."

Ren nodded slowly, drawing strength from both their steady, unwavering confidence despite his own lingering unease. "I just want to understand," he said quietly. "After everything, after months of not knowing how or why any of this happened to me, I want actual answers, even if those answers turn out to be difficult or frightening."

"Then that’s exactly what we’ll pursue," Yegard said, something fierce and supportive in his tone. "Together, properly, on our own terms."

They sat together a while longer, reviewing final preparations, and Ren found himself, despite the mounting anxiety of the approaching departure, genuinely grateful for the steady, unwavering support of both men beside him.

Whatever that mysterious, centuries-sealed region actually contained, whatever answers it might reveal about his own impossible journey between worlds, he found himself facing the uncertainty with considerably more courage than he’d have managed entirely alone.

Morning arrived too quickly, the transport already prepared and waiting, and Ren spent his final moments before departure holding both Milo and Finn close one final time, old fear and fierce determination tangling together as he finally, reluctantly, released them into Alouis’s capable care.

"Two weeks," he reminded them both, voice thick with the weight of the coming separation. "Three at the most. I promise."

He boarded the transport with Yegard and Reven both close beside him, and watched through the viewport as the palace, and the two boys who’d become his entire world, gradually shrank into the distance behind them, already counting the days until he could properly return to them again.

Whatever lay ahead, in that strange, dangerous, centuries-forgotten region of space, he found himself facing it now with equal parts dread and determination, ready, finally, to understand the full truth of his own impossible existence.