The impossible dilemma that had tortured her youth had been pulverized into dust. She had broken the ancient ceiling.
She stood as a sovereign of the Fifth Layer. With this newly forged power humming through her veins, the dangerous, untamed expanses of the deep wilderness were no longer death traps… they were hunting grounds.
She had the strength to hunt apex beasts, unearth and seize the grand resources needed to temper the bodies of her warriors and forge a new generation of powerhouses.
She wouldn't have to flee alone, and she wouldn't have to watch her people die in the frost. She would conquer the surrounding basins, subdue the clans, and weld this entire territory into an invincible spearhead.
Slowly, methodically, she would lead her people out of this forest, step by bloody step, until the banners of their tribe fluttered once more over the heavenly lands their ancestors were forced to flee.
