Chapter 1197
Jude stepped back instinctively, his heart pounding. Sophie clutched his arm. Rose’s smile faltered. Lucy had her blade drawn before anyone could breathe. Zoey cursed. Scarlet gasped. Emma was already moving to the edge of the platform. Susan and Grace clung to each other, while Natalie and Stella huddled close.
The hum became discordant, sharp. The spiral pulsed, almost frantic now.
Jude’s voice was barely a whisper. "What is that?"
No one answered.
But the thing in the mist did not move. It only... waited.
Watching them.
The spiral’s call had brought them here.
But they were no longer sure who was leading who.
The platform felt smaller now, the air thick and electric, as if the mist itself crackled with unseen energy. The shape in the clouds did not advance, did not retreat-it simply loomed, vast and patient, as though it had been waiting for them all along. The spirals where its eyes should have been seemed to turn slowly, endlessly, drawing Jude’s gaze, pulling at his thoughts, his breath, his will.