But Rykar—still proud, even in defeat—thrust his stumps forward.
He caught her.
Held her like he had when she was a child, ignoring all the pain his ruined body's many receptors were sending to his brain.
"Don't!" he exclaimed, his voice suddenly turning sharp and authoritative. "Don't lose your focus, daughter."
"But-!" she began before she got interrupted once again.
"I'm no longer a fighter. That assassination… crushed my cultivation more than I let on," he said bitterly. "My limbs were just a mask to hide the real truth; I've been running on fumes ever since. If I don't meditate for at least eighteen hours a day, my body will shut down forever… I'm nothing but a dead man who's still breathing."
His gaze locked with hers, stern and unflinching.
"You can still hurt him, unlike me. The Avatar can fly much better than I; he doesn't need me. So… let me be your chariot, daughter… Focus your strength on putting this beast down and leave the rest to me."
