Chapter 316 The Weight Of Farewells

• The days grew shorter as the group ventured deeper into enemy territory. With each passing mile, the distance between them and their final goal seemed to close, yet the air thickened with the weight of their shared past. They had come so far, forged so many alliances, but the shadow of Queen Isolde still loomed large over the horizon. The time for talk and preparation had long passed. Now, it was all about survival.
• Ariella felt the tension rising within the group. Each of them was carrying their own burdens—some visible, others hidden in their hearts. Kaelen’s burden was the heaviest. As the rightful heir to a throne he could no longer claim, he was driven by a thirst for justice that at times clouded his judgment. But even he had grown quiet, haunted by the thought of the battles to come and the lives that might be lost.
• In the final days before they reached the Queen's fortress, they encountered more kingdoms, more allies—each one more reluctant than the last. They had heard whispers of the Queen's cruelty and her ever-growing power. Some had been burned by her wrath before and were hesitant to rise up again, fearing more bloodshed. But Ariella’s presence—her courage, her purity of purpose—served as a beacon for them. One by one, the allies began to rally, uniting under the banner of hope, even if it was a hope laced with fear.