Chapter 61: The Breaking Point
The village smoldered in the dawn's dim light, tendrils of smoke winding skyward like silent cries for mercy. Alex stood amid the destruction, a hollow ache settling in her chest as she took in the ruin around her. Houses were charred husks, broken beams twisted and blackened by flame, the once-vibrant center of life now a bleak monument to devastation. She could still hear the faint echoes of screams in her ears, though the village had long since fallen silent. Her mind spun with fractured memories of last night's mission—the chaos, the battle cries, the orders she'd given without a second thought.
