Chapter 135 The Ritual Of Farewell For The Dead

Chapter 135: 135 The Ritual Of Farewell For The Dead

135 The Ritual Of Farewell For The Dead

Vaelra tightened her grip on the sword’s hilt, trying to hide the trembling of her hands.

"I should have been faster. If I had defeated Gorvak sooner, perhaps she would still be alive."

Ariselle held her hand.

"You didn’t abandon her."

"But she died."

The Queen did not try to deny it.

"Yes. She died. There are no words that can make it less painful. But I won’t allow her death to be forgotten."

Afterward, Ariselle approached the bodies of Kaelia and Nysara. The former had died protecting her companions in the south; the latter had fought until the very last moment before succumbing to her injuries.

Some warriors laid flowers beside their hands, while others wept, unable to utter a single word.

Finally, the Queen stopped before Mirevra. The Elder of the west had remained on the defensive line until the end, even when defeat seemed inevitable.

Her death had left an entire region without a single surviving warrior among its combatants.

Ariselle closed her eyes.

"I should have been with you."

Thesira raised her head.

"Your Majesty..."

"I should have fought alongside you from the beginning."

Vaelra took a deep breath before answering.

"If you had done that, perhaps the outcome would have been different. But you might also have lost your life before you could protect the rest of our people."

Ariselle clenched her fingers.

"I don’t know if that comforts me."

"It doesn’t need to comfort you," Vaelra said. "You only need to continue being our Queen."

The words lingered in the air. Ariselle looked at the two surviving Elders, realizing that the responsibility of rebuilding their people now rested on a council reduced to only two of its original members.

She breathed slowly and turned toward the assembled Medusas.

"Today, we bury our sisters, our friends, and our companions. Some were Elders. Others were young warriors who still had so much life ahead of them. All of them fought to protect this territory and the people they loved."

Her voice grew firmer, although the sadness remained visible in her eyes.

"I won’t ask you to forget your pain, nor will I tell you that everything will be fine tomorrow. I know it won’t be. But this mountain range is still our home. Our families need us, our children need to live without fear again, and our homes need to be rebuilt."

She paused.

"We will remember the names of our dead and continue living. Not because victory has erased our losses, but because they fought so that we could remain here."

The Queen lowered her head.

"May our sisters rest in peace."

The Medusas bowed simultaneously. Some wept openly, while others clasped their companions’ hands.

Every warrior received a farewell, and the families were given the opportunity to approach the bodies and leave flowers or weapons beside the platforms.

Yun Che remained at a distance for much of the ceremony. He did not belong to their people and had no intention of pretending that he fully understood their pain.

Even so, he silently observed each farewell, recognizing that a war did not end when the last enemy fell.

It ended when the survivors found a way to carry on.

And for the Medusas, that moment was still far away.

By the time the ceremony ended, dawn was approaching. The survivors returned to the inhabited areas, while Vaelra and Thesira withdrew to receive treatment.

Ariselle remained alone for a few moments before the small flames still illuminating the platforms.

Yun Che approached her.

"It’s time to return."

The Queen did not turn around.

"Do you think they will forgive me?"

"Who?"

"Those who died. Those who trusted me and expected me to protect them."

Yun Che remained silent for a few seconds.

"I don’t know. But you can’t spend the rest of your life trying to answer a question that no one can ask on their behalf."

Ariselle let out a weak laugh.

"You really don’t know how to comfort someone."

"I never claimed otherwise."

For a moment, the Queen almost smiled. Shortly afterward, the tears she had held back during the ceremony began streaming down her face.

"I’m their Queen. I should have been able to save them."

Yun Che turned toward her.

"Ariselle, look at me. You made the decisions you believed were necessary to protect your people. Some worked, others didn’t. That doesn’t mean you’ve stopped being their Queen. No cultivator can save everyone, regardless of how powerful they are."

She raised her face, listening without interrupting him.

"If you had remained on the battlefield from the beginning, perhaps you could have saved some of the warriors. Perhaps you would have died too, and in that case, the survivors would have lost their Queen. You cannot change what happened. You can only decide what you will do now."

Ariselle wiped away her tears and straightened her shoulders.

"Very well. Let’s return."

The two left the area, walking through the streets where the undead continued working. In the distance, the Medusas were organizing the recovered materials and preparing the first shelters for families who had lost their homes.

The war was over. Now the most difficult part was beginning: living after it.

The royal chambers remained sheltered by the silence of the night. Outside, the mountain range still bore the scars of war: burned slopes, shattered buildings, and paths covered with displaced stones.

In some places, torches illuminated the groups collecting the dead and separating salvageable materials from the wreckage. Farther away, the voices of the Medusas organizing the work reached them only as muffled murmurs. Inside the residence, however, the world seemed to have retreated beyond the walls.

The light from the small spiritual lamps cast soft reflections across the dark wood and the pale fabrics covering the bed. A tall window allowed the cold mountain air to enter, carrying the distant scents of damp earth and smoke.

The curtains moved almost imperceptibly. The room was not excessively luxurious; every object seemed to have been chosen for its usefulness and its connection to the royal family’s traditions.

Even so, after so many days of fighting, that room offered something rare: a place where no one needed to remain on guard every second.

Ariselle finished placing the last ornaments on the table. Her bracelets produced a faint sound as they touched the wood.

Without them, and without the ceremonial symbols she usually wore before the council, the Queen seemed less distant. Exhaustion remained visible in her shoulders, and some of the small scales near her temples had lost the luster that usually reflected the light.

The thin serpents that formed her hair moved slowly, reacting to the flow of energy that still did not entirely obey her will.

Yun Che watched her without approaching immediately. His white mask concealed most of his face, leaving only his attentive eyes visible.