Bone-Breaker knelt on the cold frozen ground, his head hanging low.
The crisp sound of the battle-axe hitting the ground was not only the shattering of his personal dignity but also the death knell for the old era of the Remnant Bone Tribe.
The wind and snow continued to howl in the Ice Rift Valley, but at this moment, beside the sound of the wind, there remained only a near-solid silence, and countless complex gazes intertwined on Bone-Breaker's hunched back—some relieved, some bewildered, some deeply sorrowful, and some holding a glimmer of hope for survival.
Colin sat upright on the back of the Snow Giant Wolf "Mo," like a frozen sculpture, coldly looking down at everything.
He did not urge, did not make a victor's declaration, but simply waited quietly for Bone-Breaker to fulfilll his final promise.
This silence was more oppressive than any words; it clearly defined the boundaries of power—the power of life and death was entirely within his single thought.
Time passed slowly in the oppressive silence.
Finally, Bone-Breaker moved.
He slowly raised his trembling right hand, reaching toward his waist, where a rough short dagger, polished from some kind of huge beast bone, was worn.
The edge of the bone dagger was not sharp, even a bit blunt, covered with scratches from use; this was a symbol of the tribe's heritage and one of his tokens as a leader.
His movements were very slow, and every tiny shift seemed to exhaust all his strength.
When his fingers touched the cold bone handle, he paused, as if feeling this final touch in his life.
His shoulders no longer shook violently; in their place was a deep, despairing calmness.
He turned his head slightly, and with the corner of his eye, took one last look at the pitch-black cave, and one last look at his tribespeople who were shivering in the wind and snow, their eyes filled with tears.
He saw the turbid tears in Nuo's eyes, saw Ulf clenching his fists tightly, his lips bitten white, and saw the women burying their children's faces in their bosoms, unable to bear looking any longer.
This glance contained all his attachments, unwillingness, and... determination.
"For... the tribe..."
A whisper, extremely faint and almost swallowed by the wind and snow, escaped from between his teeth.
This was not said for anyone to hear, but a final explanation to his own soul.
The next moment, he gripped the bone dagger tightly, without the slightest hesitation, using the last strength of his life to plunge the not-so-sharp bone blade fiercely into his own throat!
"Puchi—"
A muffled sound, not loud, yet clearly entered the ears of everyone present.
Scalding blood instantly gushed out from the ruptured blood vessels, staining his tattered fur coat red, and splattered onto the white snow beneath him, blooming into a stark and tragic red.
Bone-Breaker's body twitched violently, his eyes widened abruptly, his pupils reflecting the leaden sky one last time before rapidly dilating.
He opened his mouth, seeming to want to say something, but in the end, only a stream of thick blood mixed with bubbles spilled out.
His spine, which he had been forcing to stay straight and which had long been bent by life, finally collapsed completely; his body leaned forward and fell heavily into the cold snow, silent forever.
Blood spread slowly beneath him, the warmth clashing with the extreme cold, rising in wisps of faint white steam.
The leader of the Remnant Bone Tribe, Bone-Breaker, was dead.
He had practiced the laws of the wilderness in the most resolute and primitive way, using his own life and dignity to exchange for his people's right to live.
Inside and outside the cave, there was deathly silence.
Immediately after, suppressed, intermittent sobs arose from the crowd, especially from those relatives related by blood to Bone-Breaker and the warriors who had once fought alongside him; they covered their mouths tightly to prevent their grief from fully bursting forth, yet tears gushed out like a broken dam.
This was not an accusation against Colin, but endless grief for the final outcome of a responsible leader.
They understood that Bone-Breaker's choice was the only path to survival in a desperate situation.
Colin's gaze swept over the weeping crowd, his face still without any ripples.
To him, this was just an inevitable step in his plan, a price that had to be paid to establish absolute authority.
He raised his hand, signaling the Wolf Riders behind him to be vigilant against any unrest that might arise from the other side's grief.
"You, come out." Colin's voice broke the sorrowful silence, pointing directly at the old man who had tried to persuade Bone-Breaker.
Nuo's body trembled; supported by his tribespeople, he walked forward shakily, stopped a few steps away from Bone-Breaker's corpse, and bowed deeply to Colin, bending his upper body almost at a right angle.
"Res... Respected King, my name is Nuo." His voice was hoarse and filled with awe.
"He has fike a scar struggling to rush toward rebirth, slowly merging into the world between heaven and earth.