Stuck in an Island with Twelve Beautiful Women

"This is will. But it’s also memory. If you consume us, you’ll know what we are. And what we’ll always be."

The heart pulsed faster.

The white moss brightened.

A voice filled the chamber, not from the heart, but from everywhere.

"We remember."

Then, the heart cracked.

Not violently, but like ice splitting under sunlight. A single line down the middle. And from within, instead of blood or shadow, spilled a soft golden light.

Jude shielded his eyes. The wives gasped.

Ashra stepped forward. "It’s giving something back."

The light spread, crawling across the stone, into the carvings, through the vines. The murals shimmered. The watchers in the drawings changed, their eyes glowing gold instead of blue.

Then silence.