Chapter 1719
One by one, they approached. Grace first. Then Zoey. Then Stella. Emma. Natalie. Lucy. Susan. Scarlet. Layla. Rose. Sophie. Each touched it. Each cried out softly - some in wonder, some in pain.
And last was Jude.
When he touched it, the world cracked.
He saw fire. Mountains. Oceans too deep to name. He saw himself standing in the center of a circle of children. He saw storms that could not be escaped. He saw love that broke and rebuilt. He saw death. And then he saw a flower blooming from a corpse, golden and bright.
He gasped, pulling back.
The orb closed.
Amah nodded.
"It has begun."
Then she vanished into the trees.
And the island changed again.
The earth trembled softly beneath their feet - not with violence, but with awakening. A ripple moved outward from where the orb had vanished, like a silent heartbeat pulsing beneath the moss. The trees stirred in response, their leaves rustling not with wind but intent. A thin shaft of golden light beamed from above and locked onto the spot where Amah had stood. Jude felt it in his bones - a gentle summons, not to move, but to listen.