Weaves of Ashes

Chapter 102: Chapter 97: Return of the Hero

Location: Forest → Tardide Village

Time: Day 512 | Telia: Day 3

Realm: Telia (Feudal World)

The sun hung low in the sky, painting everything in shades of amber and blood.

Jayde walked the forest path toward Tardide, each step deliberate, measured, carrying the weight of more than just physical exhaustion. The wooden pole dug into her left shoulder, the Alpha’s massive head swaying with each movement, still dripping blood that left a trail of dark spots on the dusty road behind her.

Her body ached. Everywhere. The dragon scales had faded hours ago, leaving behind bruised ribs where the Alpha’s charge had connected, shallow claw marks across her legs that burned with every step, and a bone-deep weariness that came from fighting ten direwolves in the span of a few brutal hours.

Physical assessment: Multiple contusions. Minor lacerations. Qi reserves at 40%. Fatigue accumulation: Significant. Recommend rest.

(Can’t rest yet. Have to finish this. Have to keep the promise.)

Reiko padded beside her, his shadow-fur matted with dried blood—most of it not his own. The shadowbeast limped slightly, favoring his left front paw where an Elder’s fangs had caught him, but his silver eyes remained alert, protective.

[You should let me carry it,] he sent for the third time.

”No.” Jayde’s voice was rough, throat dry from exertion and blood loss. ”This is mine to carry. She needs to see... needs to know I did this myself.”

[She’ll know. The whole village will know.]

”They need to see it.”

Because Milta hadn’t just asked for vengeance. She’d begged for proof. For the knowledge that the monster who’d killed her children was dead, not just driven away or wounded, but dead.

The Alpha’s head provided that proof.

Its golden eyes were glazed now, filmed over with death, but the scars covering its muzzle and the sheer size of the skull told a story of dominance and violence that had terrorized this village for months.

No more.

The forest began to thin, copperleaf trees giving way to cleared farmland. Tardide appeared in the distance—small, poor, but home to people who’d shown her kindness when they had so little to give.

(Almost there. Just a little further.)

Jayde forced her legs to keep moving, forced her shoulder to bear the weight, forced herself to stand straight despite the pain.

Mission completion imminent. Maintain composure. Civilians respond to confidence.

She crossed into the village outskirts just as afternoon bled into evening.

***

The first person to see her was a child.

A little boy, maybe seven years old, playing near the eastern gate with a stick and a hoop. He looked up, saw Jayde emerging from the forest path with a massive wolf head on a pole, and his eyes went wide as dinner plates.

For a heartbeat, he just stared.

Then he dropped his hoop and ran.

”She’s back!” His voice carried high and clear through the village streets. ”She’s back! The mage is back!”

Doors opened. People emerged—slowly at first, cautious, uncertain. Then, faster as word spread like wildfire through the cramped streets.

”The mage returned!”

”She’s carrying something!”

”Is that—?”

Jayde walked down the main road, Reiko at her side, the Alpha’s head swaying with each step. The pole dug deeper into her shoulder, the weight increasing with every meter as exhaustion compounded, but she kept her back straight, her expression controlled.

Command presence. Show strength. They need to believe you succeeded.

More people poured into the street. Dozens. Scores. What seemed like the entire village emerging to see what the shouting was about.

They saw the blood-soaked mage.

They saw the shadowbeast, equally battle-worn.

They saw the massive wolf head on the pole.

Silence fell like a physical thing.

Someone gasped. A woman covered her mouth. An old man made a warding gesture.

Then someone shouted, ”Gods above, is that the Alpha?”

The silence shattered.

Questions erupted from all directions, voices overlapping, dozens of people shouting at once.

”Is it dead?”

”Is the whole pack dead?”

”How many were there?”

”Where are the bodies?”

”Did you really kill them all?”

”How is that possible?”

”You’re just one person!”

The crowd pressed closer, not threatening but desperate for answers, for confirmation, for the hope that the nightmare was finally over.

Jayde stopped in the middle of the street, surrounded by villagers, the Alpha’s head displayed for all to see. Her legs trembled. Her vision swam slightly. Blood from her wounds seeped through torn leather armor.

But she stood.

(They need this. Need to see strength. Need to believe.)

”ENOUGH!”

Elder Ryunzo’s voice cut through the chaos like a blade. The old man pushed through the crowd, using his position and presence to create space, his weathered face stern.

”Give her room! Can’t you see she’s injured? Back! Everyone back!”

The crowd reluctantly retreated, creating a small circle of space around Jayde. Elder Ryunzo approached, his eyes moving from Jayde’s battered appearance to the Alpha’s head, then back.

Something shifted in his expression. Awe. Respect. Maybe a little fear.

”Young Mistress,” he said formally, his voice carrying to the watching crowd. ”Welcome back to Tardide.”

”Thank you, Elder.” Jayde’s voice was steady despite her exhaustion. ”I’ve returned as promised.”

”So you have.” His gaze lingered on the Alpha’s head. ”Is it... is the pack truly eliminated?”

”All ten. Alpha, three Elders, six Warriors. None escaped.”

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. Ten direwolves. An entire pack. Eliminated by a single young woman and her shadowbeast companion.

Someone started crying—relief, disbelief, overwhelming emotion. Others joined in. Some laughed. Some just stared, unable to process what they were seeing.

Elder Ryunzo gestured toward his home. ”Come. You need rest, medical attention—”

”Wait.”

The single word stopped him.

”There’s someone...” Jayde’s eyes scanned the crowd, looking for one specific face. ”Where’s Milta?”

Murmurs rippled through the villagers. Heads turned, looking, searching.

Then the crowd parted.

***

Milta pushed through the gathered villagers, moving with a desperate energy that belied her skeletal frame. She’d aged twenty years in three weeks—hollow-eyed, gaunt, moving like a ghost haunting the world of the living.

But her eyes were focused now. Locked on the massive wolf head on Jayde’s shoulder.

She stumbled forward, tripping over her own feet, catching herself against someone’s shoulder. People tried to help her, tried to steady her, but she pushed them away with surprising strength.

”Is that...” Her voice was a rasp, hoarse from weeks of screaming and crying. ”Is that it?”

Jayde slowly lowered the pole, muscles protesting, and planted the base in the dirt. The Alpha’s head hung at eye level now, golden eyes glazed in death, jaws frozen in a final snarl.

Milta approached like someone in a dream. Or a nightmare. Her hand reached out, trembling, fingers hovering inches from the wolf’s fur.

”Is that the Alpha?” she whispered.

”Yes.”

”The one who...” She couldn’t finish. Couldn’t say the words.

”Yes.” Jayde’s throat tightened. ”The one who took your children. The one who led the pack.”

Milta’s hand dropped to her side. She stood there, staring at the proof of the monster’s death, her whole body shaking.

Jayde carefully pulled the pole from the ground and took three steps forward, closing the distance between them. Then she knelt—slowly, painfully, her battered body protesting—and laid the Alpha’s head at Milta’s feet.

Like an offering. Like tribute. Like a promise fulfilled.

”As promised,” Jayde said, looking up at the broken mother. ”The Alpha. The pack is dead. All of them. They’ll never hurt anyone again.”

For a long moment, nothing happened.

Milta just stared down at the massive head, at the proof that her children’s killer was dead, at the physical manifestation of vengeance delivered.

Her lips moved, forming words without sound.

Then she trembled.

Her whole body shook like a leaf in a storm, tremors running from her head to her feet, hands clenching and unclenching at her sides.

And she collapsed.

***

Milta’s knees hit the dirt beside the Alpha’s head. Her hands found the wolf’s fur, fingers digging into matted gray coat, and a sound tore from her throat—raw, animal, a wail of grief and relief and what felt like years of agony finally finding release.

”You’re dead,” she whispered. Then louder, ”You’re dead!”

Her hands moved to the wolf’s face, tracing the scars, touching the glazed eyes, feeling the cold reality of death. Not imagination. Not hope. Reality.

”You’re dead, and they’re—they’re—”

The words broke into sobs. Great heaving sobs that shook her entire frame, tears streaming down hollow cheeks, all the grief she’d held inside for three weeks pouring out in a flood of overwhelming emotion.

”My babies. My babies. You took my babies, and now you’re dead—”

Other mothers moved forward. Women who’d lost children to the pack, or had come close, or simply understood the weight of Milta’s grief because they were mothers too.

Mrs. Ryunzo reached her first, kneeling beside the broken woman, wrapping her arms around her shaking shoulders.

”I know,” she murmured. ”I know, dear. Let it out. Just let it out.”

Two other women joined her, forming a protective circle around Milta, holding her while she wept and wailed and finally, finally released the pain she’d been carrying.

The crowd watched in silence. Some were crying too—fathers who’d lost children, brothers who’d lost siblings, friends who’d watched Milta’s slow disintegration over the past weeks.

Jayde remained kneeling, her own vision blurring with unshed tears.

(This is what we fought for. This moment. This release.)

Mission objective achieved. Civilian trauma addressed. Promise fulfilled.

Not just a mission. Not just a promise.

This was a life saved from the slow death of unending grief. This was closure delivered by violence, yes, but closure nonetheless. This was a mother who could finally begin to heal because she knew—with absolute certainty—that her children’s killer was dead.

Milta’s sobs gradually softened, transforming from wails to quiet weeping. The other mothers continued holding her, rocking gently, murmuring comfort.

Finally, after what felt like hours but was probably only minutes, Milta lifted her head. Her face was soaked with tears, eyes red and swollen, but something had changed.

The hollow, dead look was gone.

Pain remained. Grief remained. The loss would never fully heal.

But life had returned to her eyes.

She looked at Jayde, still kneeling in the dirt, and whispered two words.

”Thank you.”

Jayde’s throat was too tight to respond. She just nodded.

Mrs. Ryunzo and the other women helped Milta to her feet, supporting her weight, guiding her away from the Alpha’s head with gentle hands.

”Come, dear,” Mrs. Ryunzo said softly. ”Let’s get you home. Let’s get you some food and rest.”

Milta let herself be led away, stumbling between the supporting women, glancing back once at the Alpha’s head before disappearing into the crowd.

***

The village remained silent.

Hundreds of people watching. Witnessing. Processing what they’d just seen.

Jayde slowly rose from her kneeling position, muscles screaming, ribs protesting. Her legs threatened to give out, but she locked her knees and forced herself to stand straight.

Maintain composure. Show strength. They need to see you’re in control.

(I’m so tired.)

Elder Ryunzo approached, his weathered face showing an expression Jayde had never seen before—something between awe and fear and profound respect.

”Young Mistress,” he said quietly. ”How did you... ten direwolves. An entire pack. Including an Alpha that powerful.” He gestured at the massive head. ”How?”

Every eye in the village focused on Jayde, waiting for an answer.

She looked at the crowd. Saw hope. Saw relief. Saw the beginning of something that looked like safety returning to their eyes.

And she was so, so tired.

”Elder Ryunzo,” Jayde said, her voice steady despite her exhaustion. ”Can we talk inside? I’m...” She paused, allowing a slight smile. ”I’m very tired.”

Understanding crossed his face. ”Of course. Of course! Thoughtless of me to keep you standing here.” He raised his voice, addressing the crowd. ”Everyone! The young mage has returned victorious, but she needs rest! We’ll hold a proper celebration tomorrow! For now, let her recover!”

The crowd began to disperse, reluctantly, people talking in excited tones, voices carrying amazement and disbelief and joy.

But they moved. Cleared the street. Gave space.

Elder Ryunzo gestured toward his home. ”This way, Young Mistress. My wife will prepare a bath and clean clothes. You and your companion need care.”

Jayde nodded, then bent to retrieve the pole with the Alpha’s head.

”Leave it,” Elder Ryunzo said gently. ”I’ll have someone bring it. You’ve carried it far enough.”

For a moment, Jayde wanted to protest. Wanted to carry it herself all the way.

But her shoulder was numb, her arms shaking, and pride had limits.

”Thank you,” she said.

She followed Elder Ryunzo toward his home, Reiko limping beside her, the two of them leaving a trail of blood and dirt behind them.

The last rays of sunlight painted the village in gold, and somewhere in that light, a mother was beginning to heal.

Promise kept.

Mission accomplished.