Chapter 1343
The pool dimmed.
But they were not alone.
Jude turned back to the others.
Each one was glowing.
Each one was ready.
And this new temple - this Valley of the Thirteenth - was now theirs to fill.
To sanctify.
To make divine.
Jude stepped out of the pool, the silken liquid slipping from his skin like melted light. Each drop that fell to the sand shimmered briefly, vanishing before it touched the ground, as though the valley refused to hold onto anything he gave freely. The glowing thrones circled him like sentinels. The flower - still open, still warm - continued to pulse, slow and steady, like a resting heartbeat. The face within had vanished, but her presence hadn’t. She lingered in the air like perfume, in the shadows, in every breath they took.