The King Of War Returns (Jaden Rift) novel Chapter 85

At a restaurant, Jaden, Julie, Marvin and Drax were seen.

The restaurant was filled with a rich, warm ambiance — the kind that made you forget your worries, if only for a moment. The table was a riot of food: crispy chicken, grilled meats, dumplings, noodles — a feast fit for a king and his soldiers.

Drax was tearing into a whole chicken with the kind of pure, raw hunger that seemed to come from deep within his soul. His hands were greasy, his face smeared with the rich, savory juice, yet he remained unfazed by the stares from nearby diners.

“I still haven’t properly thanked you for saving Julie, Jaden.” Marvin sighed quietly, glimmer of regret creeping into his voice. “If you hadn’t gotten there in time… it would have been nearly impossible to bring her back from the Gravesends.”

Jaden glanced up from his plate, a softness creeping into his piercing gaze. “Don’t thank me, Uncle Marvin. Julie is my family… my blood. I’d walk through hell itself if it meant keeping her safe.”

Marvin nodded, a sad but proud smile tugging at his lips. His eyes fell back on Drax, who was busy dismantling a chicken leg with pure, uninhibited aggression. “Your friend… is a remarkable eater.”

Jaden remained silent for a moment and then sighed, a distant look creeping into his eyes as memories washed over him. “He’s not just a big eater… He’s a warrior who has fought against death more than once.”

The restaurant seemed to fade away in his mind, the rich food and comfortable surroundings overtaken by a barren battlefield — a place where men fell and died without ceremony, without proper burials… a place where friendships were forged in the face of overwhelming danger.

“It was on the border… years ago.” Jaden said quietly, although everyone at the table fell silent, listening to him. “Drax led a small army of 1,000 soldiers with only 3 days’ rations.”

He paused briefly, knuckles tightening around his glass. “They were surrounded by a massive army… cut off from their supply lines… stranded.”

Jaden pressed on, ignoring the silence that fell across the restaurant, ignoring the diners who turned their heads, wondering what story was being told. “To keep his wounded men alive… Drax went without food… without rest… for seven days.”

Jaden paused briefly, letting the moment sink in. “… ‘My king… I’m sorry… Out of a thousand… only a few of us remain… I… I failed you.’”

The words seemed to tremble in the air, heavy with regret and loyalty.

“It broke me.” Jaden said quietly. “A man nearly two meters tall… a warrior who fought without food… without rest… against overwhelming odds… cried in my arms… because soldiers under him fell… because for him… every life was worth protecting.”

The silence was thick… piercing… filled with memories of those who fell… soldiers whose smiles remained in their comrades’ hearts, even though their bodies were gone.

Jaden turned back toward Drax, his expression a mixture of deep admiration and lingering sorrow. “For those we lost… for those we fought alongside… we remember their stories… their sacrifices… and we carry them forward.”